The US is sending a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron and additional warships to the Middle East as the region braces for an Iranian retaliation to the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran earlier this week. It is perhaps the largest movement of US forces to the region since the early days of the Gaza war, when the Pentagon sent two carrier strike groups toward the Middle East in a very public warning to regional militant groups not to expand the fighting. “We’ve heard the Supreme Leader loud and clear that he intends to avenge this killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, and that they want to conduct another attack on Israel,” John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, told CNN. “We can’t just assume that we are also potentially going to be victims of that kind of an attack, so we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right resources and capabilities in the region.”

On Friday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, which is currently operating in the Gulf of Oman, according to a statement from Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh. In addition, destroyers and cruisers capable of ballistic missile defense will also be sent to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea. The statement does not say which warships have been sent, but two US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea took part in intercepting the barrage of strikes Iran launched against Israel in April. Austin also ordered the deployment of a fighter squadron to the region, Singh said. The US already has the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship in the region, which operates with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, capable of carrying out an evacuation of US citizens in Lebanon should it be ordered. “The United States’ global defense is dynamic and the Department of Defense retains the capability to deploy on short notice to meet evolving national security threats,” Singh said in the statement.

Iran has vowed to attack Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not commented on the killing. US officials said the anticipated Iranian attack could occur in the coming days, and the US is closely watching the region for any indications of how it might play out. Officials said the attack may be similar to the barrage of ballistic missiles and drones Iran launched against Israel in April, but it could also be larger and more complex, coordinated with Iranian proxies in the region. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah hinted that a coordinated attack on Israel could be in the works after Israel assassinated one of the Iran-backed group’s top commanders in Beirut less than 24 hours before the killing of Haniyeh. “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,” he said in a speech Thursday.

CDFingers wrote: Sat Aug 03, 2024 10:25 am This really this has very little to do with Israel, but more to do with US regional influence, power, and access to markets. When travelers get bushwhacked and robbed of goods made by big companies, those companies send big ugly dudes with weapons to that bend in the road. Problem solved. It has always been thus. This is more about Suez and commerce.

CDF

Police say they have arrested four people and detained 10 others for questioning on suspicion of being part of a criminal ring to provide firearm licenses for people who would not normally qualify. Among those arrested is a worker in the firearm licensing department in the Ministry of National Security. According to police the worker provided licenses in return for bribes solicited by the other other members of the ring.

Police say the arrests and detentions follow a weeks-long undercover operation. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has made easing measures for many Israelis to obtain a firearm license a signature policy since taking office. More than 100,000 licenses have been issued since the October 7 Hamas terror assault.

sikacz wrote: Fri Aug 09, 2024 7:32 pm What’s our interest in that area, none of it is US soil. I agree with Bisbee. We take a dim view of anyone encroaching on our territory, but we never seem to see other countries views of sovereignty or national security interests as valid. And we allow school yard bullies to use us as their enforcer.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to speed up its voyage to the region, as Israeli security officials anticipate imminent direct retaliation from Iran over the recent assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran. The U.S. deployment was announced by the Defense Department on Sunday following talks between Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The pair discussed efforts to “deter aggression” by Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, according to a readout of the call. Iran has blamed Israel for the assassination last month of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh and is promising revenge. Israel has not commented on the killing but told U.S. officials immediately afterward that it was responsible. Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters, an Israeli official, citing conversations with security officials, said Monday that the country’s updated assessments indicate Iran has decided to directly attack Israel in response.

Israel has communicated to Iran and Hezbollah that targeting civilian population centers would be considered a red line for Israel, which is preparing for a spectrum of scenarios, including one in which Hezbollah attacks first and is joined by Iran afterward, said Yoel Guzansky, a former official on Israel’s National Security Council who is now a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Guzansky also said that Israel was considering a preemptive attack against Hezbollah, but that such a decision would be conditional on approval from the United States, which has recently established a “robust American presence in the region, coupled with an enormous U.S. pressure, not seen in recent years, on Iran to de-escalate.” In a statement, acting Iranian foreign minister Ali Bagheri said Sunday that “Iran will make the aggressions of the … Israeli regime costly in a legitimate and firm action.”

Haniyeh was killed in a guesthouse in Tehran where he was staying ahead of the inauguration of Iran’s new president, in what has been seen as a humiliating security failure. Israeli officials fear Iran could coordinate its attack with Hezbollah, which has vowed its own retaliation for Israel’s killing last month of Fuad Shakur, a top commander. Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser, said Israel expects that Hezbollah will retaliate for the “hard hit, operationally,” the group experienced. Amid the spiraling tensions, the United States is bolstering its presence in the region because, in the case of escalation, it “will want to be on the ground to help Israel to defend itself, to prevent damage, and then ensure that Israel does not respond,” Amidror said.