Defense secretary orders Middle East-bound warships to sail faster as Iran threats intensify

US military forces are moving to the Middle East in anticipation of an Iranian-led attack on Israel, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday evening.

Iran and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group in Lebanon, have been adamant that they intend to soon launch a attack against Israel, although the timing or nature of the possible attack is unclear. The United States has pledged to defend Israel in the event of an attack and is beefing up its military presence in the Middle East in preparation, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. statement on sunday

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to “accelerate its transit” to the Middle East, Ryder said. The strike group, which includes an aircraft carrier, naval destroyers and fighter jets, will join the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, which is equipped with similar capabilities and is already stationed in the region.

Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has heard the call! #LincolnNation respond to the call of the Nation.

Carrier Air Wing 9 consists of eight squadrons including @USMC F-35C Lightning II aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314. #BlueGreenTeam pic.twitter.com/dYZKnu53rf

— USS Abraham Lincoln (@CVN_72) August 12, 2024

Austin also directed the USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, to join U.S. forces in the Middle East, according to Ryder.

Speaking to his Israeli counterpart on Sunday, Austin “[reiterated the U.S.] the commitment to take all possible steps to defend Israel and pointed to the strengthening of the posture and capabilities of American military force throughout the Middle East,” he said in a statement.

The Pentagon had already strengthened its military “force posture” in the region in preparation “to respond to a range of contingencies,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. he said journalists last week.

While the United States has promised to defend Israel from an Iranian attack, it is also seeking to do so diplomatic departures to try to dissipate the tensions between Israel and Iran. Iran and Hezbollah have planned an attack in retaliation for the assassination of a senior Hezbollah and Hamas leader in late July, the latter of whom was killed in Iran's capital.

Strikes were expected last week, but Iran and Hezbollah, or Iran's other terrorist groups in the Middle East, have not staged attacks beyond what has been common over the past year or so. Austin's counterpart, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, told Austin during the Sunday phone call that an attack was expected within days, according to a source familiar with the call that spoke in Axios.

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