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he United States is deploying a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron, and additional warships to the Middle East in anticipation of Iranian retaliation following the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran earlier this week.
This significant movement of US forces is the largest since the early days of the Gaza conflict when the Pentagon dispatched two carrier strike groups to the Middle East as a warning to regional militant groups not to escalate the fighting.
John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, stated, "We’ve heard the Supreme Leader loud and clear that he intends to avenge this killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, and that they want to conduct another attack on Israel. We can’t just assume that we are also potentially going to be victims of that kind of an attack, so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right resources and capabilities in the region.”
On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, currently operating in the Gulf of Oman, according to a statement from Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh. Additionally, destroyers and cruisers equipped with ballistic missile defense capabilities will be sent to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea.
Austin also ordered the deployment of a fighter squadron to the region. The US already has the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship in the area, operating with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is capable of evacuating US citizens from Lebanon if necessary.
Singh emphasized the dynamic nature of the United States' global defense, stating, "The Department of Defense retains the capability to deploy on short notice to meet evolving national security threats."
Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not commented on the killing. US officials are closely monitoring the region, anticipating that the Iranian attack could occur in the coming days and may be similar to the ballistic missile and drone strikes launched against Israel in April, but potentially larger and more complex, coordinated with Iranian proxies in the region.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah hinted at a possible coordinated attack on Israel following the assassination of one of the Iran-backed group’s top commanders in Beirut less than 24 hours before the killing of Haniyeh. "Because they have picked a fight with everyone, they don’t know where the response will come from … the response will come separately or coordinated," he said in a speech on Thursday.
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