WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and ordered the battle group of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to sail to the area more quickly, as the U.S. said Monday it believes Iran or its proxies could launch an attack on Israel as early as this week.
The moves, announced by the Defense Department on Sunday, come as the United States and other allies are pushing for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire This could help to ease the growing tensions in the region after the Assassination of Hamas politician Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a high-ranking Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
Officials fear retaliation from Iran and Hezbollah for the killings, and the United States is increasing its presence in the region.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Iran’s response to the killings “could come this week” but “it’s difficult to say at this point what an attack by Iran or its proxies might look like.” He said the U.S. and its allies were preparing for a “significant series of attacks.”
“The president is confident that we have the capacity to defend Israel should it come to that,” Kirby said, adding: “Nobody wants it to come to that.”
Major General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant earlier in the day and reiterated America’s commitment to “taking all possible steps to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. forces and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions.”
In a joint statement, the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy called on Iran to withdraw its ongoing threats of military strike against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke on the phone with Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian on Monday and “expressed his great concern about the danger of a regional conflagration in the Middle East,” the German government said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Pezeshkian and urged him to refrain from an attack, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin also spoke to Pezeshkian on Monday and “reiterated the need to prevent in every way the widening of the extremely serious conflict that is underway,” a Vatican statement said.
The Lincoln, which was in the Asia-Pacific, had already been ordered to the region to relieve the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier battle group, which is due to begin its journey home from the Middle East. Last week, Austin said the Lincoln would arrive in the Central Command area by the end of the month.
It was unclear Sunday what his latest order means and how much sooner the Lincoln will head to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier carries F-35 fighter jets, in addition to the F/A-18s that are also on carriers.
Ryder also did not say how quickly the guided missile submarine USS Georgia would reach the region.
He said Austin and Gallant also discussed Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and the importance of mitigating harm to civilians.
The call came a day after an Israeli airstrike early Saturday hit a school in Gaza that was being converted into a temporary shelter, killing at least 80 people and wounding nearly 50 others, according to Palestinian health authorities, in one of the deadliest attacks in the past decade. War between Israel and Hamas.
