WASHINGTON: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has informed Israel about current and future changes to U.S. forces in the Middle East, the Pentagon said on Friday, amid threats from Iran and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Pentagon added that Austin had not yet made a final decision about which forces to deploy. Officials have told Reuters that a wide range of options are under consideration, including aircraft and naval assets.
The expected changes come as the United States is bracing for Iran to make good on its threats to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran - one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.
“(Austin) informed the minister of additional measures to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defense of Israel,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters after a call between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
US ‘confident’ of avoiding wider Israel-Hezbollah war
“(Austin) committed to minister Gallant and the President (Joe Biden) committed to (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that we will be bolstering our force protection in the region,” she added.
It is unclear if the U.S. preparations are as intensive as they were prior to April 13, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles.
At the time, Israel successfully knocked down
almost all of the roughly 300 drones and missiles with the help of the United States and other allies.
Biden, in a phone call on Thursday with Netanyahu, discussed new U.S. defensive military deployments to support Israel against threats such as missiles and drones, the White House said.
Iran and Hamas have both accused Israel of carrying out the killing and have pledged to retaliate against their foe. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death nor denied it.
Singh said the United States did not want to see a wider regional conflict and did not believe an escalation was inevitable.
“I think we are being very direct in our messaging that certainly we don’t want to see heightened tensions and we do believe there is an off ramp here and that is that ceasefire deal,” Singh said.