US sends more warships, F-22 jets to Mideast as fears over widening war mount
The Pentagon has ordered more warships and F-22 stealth fighters to deploy to the Middle East as it prepares for a possible escalation of the Mideast war.
The US military is sending over another squadron of the elite Air Force jets along with an unspecified number of Navy cruisers and destroyers capable of intercepting ballistic missiles to support Israel after Iran vowed to retaliate over the deaths of top Hamas and Hezbollah officials, according to the New York Times
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who ordered up the additional support Friday, also called for the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to end its Pacific tour and head to the region to relieve the fellow carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
Other ships already in the western Mediterranean are scheduled to move east toward the Israeli coast to provide additional security, Pentagon officials added.
“Austin has ordered adjustments to US military posture designed to improve US force protection, to increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The statement did not clarify when the additional warplanes and vessels would arrive in the Middle East, but officials estimated that the F-22s would reach their destination in the coming days.
Pentagon rep Sabrina Singh also suggested Friday that the US could deploy additional troops to the area to defend US allies and assets from possible attacks by Iran or its terrorist proxies.
The reinforcements came after President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed additional US defense deployments to protect Israel from new missile and drone attacks, according to the White House.
Austin told his own Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, that the US is committed to defending Israel with its newly bolstered forces.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called for a direct strike on the Jewish state over the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was reportedly blown apart by a covertly placed bomb in his Tehran guesthouse.
The assassination occurred within 24 hours of the death of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr, who is believed to have ordered the rocket attack on a soccer field in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights that killed 12 children last month.
With Tehran and its proxies vowing revenge, the US said it fears that an all-out war between Israel and Iran will erupt, causing the chaos between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza to spread across the Middle East.
Despite tensions appearing to reach a boiling point, the Pentagon said it believes the it is still possible to keep the conflict from escalating.
With Post wires
