From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 2, 2024
Pentagon chief tells Gallant it will bolster US troops in Middle East amid threats from Iran
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has informed Israel about current and future changes to American forces in the Middle East, the Pentagon says amid threats from Iran and its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Pentagon adds that Austin has not yet made a final decision about which forces to deploy.
Officials have told Reuters that a wide range of options are under consideration, including aircraft and naval assets.
The expected changes come as the United States is bracing for Iran to make good on its threats to respond to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh two days ago in Tehran — one in a series of killings of senior figures in the Palestinian terror group as the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza rages.
“(Austin) informed the minister of additional measures to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defense of Israel,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh tells reporters after a call between Austin and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“(Austin) committed to Minister Gallant and the President (Joe Biden) committed to (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that we will be bolstering our force protection in the region,” she adds.
It is unclear if the US preparations are as intensive as they were before April 13, when Iran launched an attack on Israel with drones and missiles. At the time, Israel successfully knocked down almost all of the roughly 300 drones and missiles with the help of the United States and other allies.
Iran and Hamas have both accused Israel of carrying out the killing and have pledged retaliation. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the death nor denied it.
Singh says the United States does not want to see a wider regional conflict and does not believe an escalation is inevitable.
“I think we are being very direct in our messaging that certainly we don’t want to see heightened tensions and we do believe there is an off-ramp here and that is that ceasefire deal,” Singh says in reference to a hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
