The US is increasing its military presence in the Middle East.
The U.S. will move a squadron of fighter jets to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region. This information was announced by the Pentagon on August 2nd, aimed at strengthening the U.S. military presence to help protect Israel from potential attacks by Iran and its proxy forces, as well as to safeguard American troops.
In a statement issued Friday evening, the Pentagon said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had also ordered additional ballistic missile defense cruisers and destroyers to areas in Europe and the Middle East and was taking steps to send more land-based ballistic missile defense systems there.
These changes fulfill a promise made by US President Joe Biden to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the White House, in a phone call on the afternoon of August 1st, Biden discussed new US military deployments to protect against potential ballistic missile and drone attacks. In April, US forces intercepted dozens of missiles and drones fired by Iran at Israel and helped shoot down almost all of them.
U.S. leaders are concerned about escalating violence in the Middle East in response to recent Israeli attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, which have provoked threats of retaliation. Iran has also threatened to retaliate after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after a senior Hezbollah commander, Fouad Shukur, was killed in Beirut.
Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas leaders after the group's attack on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Secretary Austin is ordering the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the Middle East to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, currently in the Gulf of Oman but scheduled to return home later this summer. This decision indicates the Pentagon has decided to maintain a carrier continuously in the region as a deterrent against Iran at least until next year.
The Pentagon has not disclosed where the fighter jet squadron will come from or where it will be stationed in the Middle East. Some allies in the region are often willing to host U.S. military forces but prefer not to disclose this publicly.
The Pentagon has options for providing additional land-based ballistic missile defense capabilities, such as the Patriot system or the THAAD high-altitude missile defense system, both of which launch interceptor missiles from mobile launchers mounted on specialized trailers. The Pentagon has not specified which system will be deployed to bolster defenses in this region.
The White House said in a statement that Biden "reaffirmed his commitment to Israel's security against any threat from Iran," including its proxy groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
Earlier on August 2, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that moves were underway. She said that Austin "will direct multiple" force movements to provide additional support to Israel and bolster protection for U.S. troops in the region.
Military and defense officials considered a range of options, from adding ships and fighter squadrons to supplementing air defense systems or unmanned weapons. In many cases, the U.S. did not provide details because host nations were sensitive about the presence of additional U.S. forces and did not want to publicize these moves.
It is not yet clear which new ships will be heading to the Middle East.
The U.S. has had a continuous naval presence there and in the eastern Mediterranean, including two Navy destroyers, the USS Roosevelt and USS Bulkeley, as well as the USS Wasp and USS New York. The Wasp and New York are part of an amphibious readiness group and carry a Marine Corps expeditionary unit that could be used if an evacuation of U.S. personnel is needed.
Additionally, an unnamed U.S. official said that two U.S. Navy destroyers currently in the Middle East will move north into the Red Sea toward the Mediterranean. At least one of them may remain in the Mediterranean if needed.
