The United States Department of Defense announced last week that it is deploying additional destroyers, fighters, B-52 Stratofortress bombers, and other military assets to the Middle East. The deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel for the U.S. ally’s recent strikes against its military facilities.
In a Friday press release, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, “In keeping with our commitments to the protection of U.S. citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy, the Secretary of Defense ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several U.S. Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region.”
Ryder explained that the additional U.S. military assets will start arriving in the Middle East region in the “coming months” as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group departs. The Pentagon press secretary noted that the deployments follow the Pentagon’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel and the sustained posture of the Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Unit in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In Friday’s press release, Ryder said the deployment of additional military resources showcases the “flexible nature of U.S. global defense posture and U.S. capability to deploy world-wide on short notice to meet evolving national security threats.”
“Secretary Austin continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” Ryder added.
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According to The Daily Wire, the deployment of additional U.S. forces to the Middle East comes as Iran has indicated that it will retaliate against Israel’s recent strike against Iranian military and missile production facilities. The outlet noted that while the Iranian government initially downplayed the Israeli attack in an effort to avoid further conflict escalation in the Middle East, Iranian state media reported that top Iranian officials confirmed the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism will take additional action against Israel.
“Iran’s response to the Zionist aggression is definite,” Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Deputy Commander General Ali Fadavi said, according to The New York Times. “We have never left an aggression unanswered in 40 years. We are capable of destroying all that the Zionists possess with one operation.”
The New York Times also reported that Gholamhossein Mohammadi Golpayegani, who serves as the head of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office, warned that Iran will inflict a “fierce, tooth-breaking response” against Israel.
