WASHINGTON: The United States (US) will deploy additional fighter jets and navy ships in West Asia to defend Israel, the US Department of Defence said.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh on Friday said the deployment would be in response to threats from Iran and Iranian-backed militias. Washington is also taking steps to increase its readiness to deploy more land-based ballistic missile defence, Pentagon said.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin “has ordered additional ballistic missile defence-capable cruisers and destroyers to the US European Command and US Central Command regions,” a statement from the US Department of Defence (DOD) read.
The Pentagon is also taking steps to increase its (US) readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defence.
The US defence chief has ordered more fighters to West Asia, the Pentagon added.
Singh on Friday said the commitment for more defence capabilities in the region comes from conversations between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night.
“This morning, Secretary of the Defence Lloyd J. Austin III followed up on those conversations with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant,” she said. Austin pledged additional support to Israel during a call with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
“The secretary reiterated ironclad support for Israel’s security and informed the minister of additional measures to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defence of Israel,” Pentagon spokesperson Singh said.
The move comes as the US anticipates potential retaliation from Iran over the recent killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Tehran and its proxies have vowed revenge for the killing of Haiyeh and a top Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukur, in Lebanon.
Austin has ordered adjustments to US military posture designed to improve US force protection, increase support for the defence of Israel, and ensure the US is prepared to respond to various contingencies, the Pentagon statement read.
To maintain a carrier strike group presence in West Asia, Austin has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, currently on deployment in the Central Command area of responsibility.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and accused the United States of supporting the attack which it blamed on Israel, state TV reported on Saturday. The televised statement said a rocket with a 7-kg (about 15 pound) warhead was used to target the residence of Hamas’ political leader in the capital Tehran on Wednesday.
Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.