The U.S. is repositioning new military assets to the Middle East ahead of an imminent attack by Iran or one of its proxies on Israel, a defense official told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Iran threatened to retaliate against U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East if the Biden administration intervened in defense of Israel ahead of or during an attack on Israel widely expected to occur within days or hours. The new defense assets, which the official declined to describe in detail, will help deter Iran from attempting to harm American forces that were, until recently, under constant bombardment from Iran’s proxies in Iraq and Syria.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Gen. Erik Kurilla visited Israel on Thursday to coordinate with Israeli leadership regarding Tehran’s looming retaliation, The New York Times reported. (RELATED: While Eyes Are On The Middle East, The US Navy Has Been Staring Down China Near Taiwan)
Tehran has been telegraphing its intention to carry out the attack for several days, but it’s unclear how or in what manner it plans to attack.
“We are moving additional assets to the region to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for U.S. forces,” a defense official told the DCNF.
President Joe Biden had reaffirmed U.S. support to Israel as “ironclad” despite metastasizing hostilities between the administration and that of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, as Iran’s threat to attack Israel imminently clear, the NYT reported.
“The Iranian message was we will attack the forces that attack us, so don’t fuck with us and we won’t fuck with you,” one U.S. official told Axios on Friday.
Israel targeted and killed several senior officials of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), its elite paramilitary organization that also oversees global proxy operations, in surprise airstrikes in early April. Iran reportedly told other countries in the Middle East it holds the U.S. directly responsible for the strike on IRGC leaders in Damascus.
The Biden administration has denied foreknowledge of the strikes, which could further ignite simmering tensions between Iran and Israel.
#afterburners engaged 🔥
F/A-18 Super Hornets aboard @TheCVN69 conduct flight operations in the Red Sea.#FlyingFriday | #FA18 | #SuperHornet pic.twitter.com/01tcD50oFe
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The U.S. moved defense assets to the Middle East in October and November to similarly bolster deterrence amid fears Iran, or its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, would take advantage of Israel’s war to eliminate the Hamas terrorist group.
In January, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier departed the eastern Mediterranean where it had been sending a constant message of U.S. strength, after eight months and three deployment extensions, U.S. Naval Institute News reported.
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