It also demands that one of its aircraft carriers speed up its arrival in the region
The US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has announced that he has ordered the deployment of a missile-guided submarine to the Middle East, amid tensions in the region in the face of an imminent Iranian response following the assassination of the leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Ismail Haniye, in an attack in Tehran blamed on Israel.
The submarine in question is the ‘USS Georgia’, according to a statement published by the Pentagon on the occasion of the call that Austin has had with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to whom he has reiterated Washington’s commitment to “take all possible measures to defend Israel.”
The Pentagon chief has highlighted “the strengthening of the posture and capabilities of the US military force throughout the Middle East in light of rising regional tensions,” indicating that he has asked the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, equipped with F-35 fighters, to “accelerate its arrival.” This “will add to the capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group.”
“Austin and Gallant have also discussed Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip and the importance of mitigating harm to civilians, progress toward achieving a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza, as well as efforts to deter aggression by Iran, Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian groups in the region,” explained the spokesman for the Secretary of Defense, Patrick Ryder.
In addition, according to sources consulted by the American news portal Axios, the Israeli Minister of Defense has indicated to his American counterpart that Iran’s military preparations suggest that it is preparing for a “large-scale” attack that could be launched “in the coming days.”
This deployment of military capabilities in and around the Middle East occurs in a context in which fears of a regional escalation by Hezbollah and other partners and allies of Iran in solidarity with the Palestinian population and in response to attacks by Israel have grown. Tensions have escalated at the regional level due, in large part, to Hezbollah’s attacks against northern Israel and Israel’s bombings in southern Lebanon and even the vicinity of the capital, Beirut.
