The US military are deploying extra military assets to the Middle East as the region braces for Iran’s retaliation on Israel following last week’s assassinations of the Hamas and Hezbollah chiefs.
The Pentagon has said they are sending warships, fighter jets and troops, the increasing tensions in the Middle East has seen airlines cancelling flights to Lebanon and Israel.
As the Middle East braces for all out war the US has sent a fighter jet squadron and two carrier strike groups, which is the largest mobilisation since the Gaza war started.
The US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, along with destroyers and cruisers which are loaded with ballistic missiles to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea.
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US officials have said they are expecting Iran to respond with a military attack on Israel in the coming days.
CNN reported that the Pentagon said Austin will be directing “multiple force posture moves” across the Middle East amid the expected Iranian military strike on Israel.
The deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said that Austin spoke to the Israeli Defence Minister on Friday, he “informed the minister of additional measures to include ongoing and future defense force posture changes that the department will take to support the defense of Israel.”
Singh added, “The secretary will be directing multiple forthcoming force posture moves to bolster force protection for US forces regionwide, to provide elevated support to the defense of Israel, and to ensure that the United States is prepared to respond to this evolving crisis.”
The US may be sending “additional” troops to help bolster US forces, but Singh refused to be drawn on specific types of units that may be deployed to the Middle East.
The leader of the Iranian back Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah has suggested that there could be a coordinated attack on Israel.
Nasrallah warned in a speech on Thursday, “Because they have picked a fight with everyone, they don’t know where the response will come from … the response will come separately or coordinated.”
The French government have told their citizens to leave Iran and Cyprus and should war break out in the Middle East they are preparing plans for large scale evacuations.
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