The United States will deploy additional warships and fighter jets to the Middle East in support of Israel amid rising tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil, according to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday.
Haniyeh, Hamas’ political bureau chief, was killed in a targeted strike on July 31 in his guesthouse in Iran’s capital, Tehran. He was in the city for the swearing in ceremony of newly-elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of conducting the strike that killed Haniyeh. However, Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.
In the aftermath of Haniyeh’s assassination, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Israel had “prepared a harsh punishment for itself.” In a similar sentiment, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a Saturday statement that revenge for Haniyeh’s killing will be “severe and at an appropriate time, place, and manner.”
In a statement Friday, the Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said the DOD is taking steps “to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran’s partners and proxies,” and reaffirmed the U.S.’s “ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel.”
“To maintain a carrier strike group presence in the Middle East, the Secretary has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, currently on deployment in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Singh said.
In addition to sea-preparedness, “The Secretary has also ordered the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East, reinforcing our defensive air support capability.”
The DOD also “ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command regions,” and is increasing readiness “to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense.”
This is a developing story and will be updated with additional context.
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