The Pentagon on Sunday announced steps to bolster its forces in the Middle East amid Israel’s non-stop bombardment of Lebanon.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the US will reinforce its “air-support capabilities” in the coming days and said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “increased the readiness of additional US forces to deploy, elevating our preparedness to respond to various contingencies.”
Ryder said Austin also ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group to stay in the region. The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit will also continue to operate in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Ryder also issued a warning to Iran in the statement. “Secretary Austin stressed that the United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict,” he said.
“Secretary Austin made 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 necessary measure to defend our people,” Ryder added.
The US has been vowing to defend Israel from any potential Iranian attack, and the Pentagon said last week that was one purpose of maintaining an increased force posture in the region.
“The support that you’re seeing when it comes to US forces in the region is for our own force protection and should we need to come to the defense of Israel, like we saw from that large-scale attack from Iran,” said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
Singh was referencing when the US directly intervened to defend Israel from Iranian missiles and drones in April, an attack provoked by the Israeli bombing of Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria.
Iran is vowing it will respond to the Israeli killing of Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed alongside Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israeli killing of Nasrallah and the slaughter of civilians in Lebanon could provoke attacks on US forces in the region since Israel carried out the escalations with full-throated US support. Austin and other US officials claim they seek de-escalation, but the US military aid to Israel continues to flow.
