US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East as the region braces for possible attacks by Iran and its allies after the killing of senior members of Hamas and Hizbullah.
While the USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine, was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July, according to a US military post on social media, it was a rare move to publicly announce such a deployment.
In a statement after Mr Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, the Pentagon said he had ordered the Abraham Lincoln strike group to accelerate its deployment to the region.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of US military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions,” the statement added.
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The US military had already said it will deploy additional fighter jets and warships to the Middle East as Washington seeks to bolster Israeli defences.
Senior American officials, headed by secretary of state Antony Blinken and CIA director William Burns, are expected to arrive in the Middle East in the next few days as Washington launches a concerted diplomatic push to end the Gaza war while trying to prevent an all-out conflict between Israel and Iran and Hizbullah.
The US and mediators Qatar and Egypt will exert maximum pressure on both sides to clinch a deal when talks resume on Thursday, hoping that a breakthrough will also decrease tensions on the northern front.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Iran-backed Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31st, an attack that drew threats of revenge by Iran against Israel, which is fighting the Palestinian group in Gaza. Iran blamed Israel for the killing. Israel has not claimed responsibility.
The assassination and the killing of the senior military commander of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hizbullah, Fuad Shukr, by Israel in a strike on Beirut, have fuelled concern that the conflict in Gaza is turning into a wider Middle East war.
Iran has said the US bears responsibility in the assassination of Haniyeh because of its support for Israel.
Several US and coalition personnel were wounded in a drone attack on Friday in Syria, in the second major attack in recent days against US forces amid soaring tensions in the region. – Reuters
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