The commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) is visiting the Middle East.

According to the Russian news agency TASS on August 4, the Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael E. Kurilla, arrived in the Middle East on August 3.

According to sources cited by Axios, the visit took place amid preparations by the US and its allies for a possible Iranian attack on Israel, which the country may carry out soon.

Accordingly, the head of CENTCOM will visit several Gulf states, Jordan, and Israel and attempt to mobilize international and regional allies to jointly repel a potential attack from Iran.

According to sources, Jordan is expected to be a highlight of Kurilla's trip, as the country played a key role in intercepting Iranian drones flying toward Israel on April 13.

Axios points out that neither the US nor Israel knows whether Iran and the Shiite Hezbollah movement have decided to jointly carry out the operation. Sources say the attack is scheduled to be launched on August 5th.

Earlier, the Pentagon announced it would send additional forces to the Middle East to protect Israel, including cruisers and destroyers capable of ballistic missile defense. The U.S. is also preparing to deploy additional land-based missile defense systems.

Tensions in the Middle East have escalated in recent days following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, while he was in Tehran, and the purge of Hezbollah military leader Fouad Shokr in Beirut.

Hamas and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the incidents and said they will investigate them.