Iran has been threatening to respond to the suspected Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut.
To prepare, the United States has increased its military forces in the Middle East with the movement of the USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group to the region along with additional missile defenses and a new fighter squadron. The USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group will replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which is in the Gulf of Oman but scheduled to come home later this summer.
On Friday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “will be directing multiple” force movements to provide additional support to Israel and increase protection for U.S. troops in the region.
The White House, in a statement, said President Joe Biden “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.”
Israel has vowed to kill Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack where they took 250 people hostage and killed 1,200, sparking the war in Gaza . Since Oct. 7, around 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to The Associated Press, and much of the population has been displaced multiple times.
Fears of Iran attack increase
It’s currently not clear what form an Iranian attack could take and whether it could be as significant as the April drone and missile attack , which was largely intercepted by Israel and its allies.
Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Sunday, with the Pentagon saying the two discussed U.S. force posture moves to support Israel and deescalate tensions in the region. In addition, Austin expressed strong support for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza.
The United States is doing everything possible to make sure that this situation does not boil over, White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said in a Sunday interview with ABC.
“Part of what makes back-channel messages and conversations effective is that they need to stay private,” Finer told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos. “So I won’t speak to the details of the diplomatic activity that is underway other than to say in close coordination and conjunction with our Israeli allies and other partners and allies in the region.”
An Axios report stated that an attack from Iran and Hezbollah against Israel could happen within 24 hours, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is ready for any scenario.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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