US Deploys More Vessels And Sub-Marine Near Israel Ahead Of Anticipated Iran Attack (image@CENTCOM)
Iran still holds Israel and its allies on the edge with its anticipated retaliation. Nearly two weeks after the assassination Of Hamas pollical bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Tehran still has not gave out any details on how it will deliver the vowed response. Haniyeh was assassinated while he was visited Tehran for the swearing-in ceremony of new President Masoud Pezeshkian. Israeli also assassinated Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur.
While urging to step back from further increasing the already fragile situation, US has deployed more vessels to aid Israel, if the region is to plunge to wider war. A U.S. official said another U.S. destroyer had moved into the eastern Mediterranean, bolstering offensive and defensive missile capabilities in the region, reported The Washington Post. The USS Laboon arrived in the area after making its way from the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, said the report.
The destroyers USS Roosevelt and USS Bulkeley and a three-ship amphibious task force that includes the USS Wasp, the USS Oak Hill and the USS New York are already in the region. Sailors and Marines could be called upon if U.S. officials determine one is necessary, said the report.
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Iran and Hamas accused Israel assassination of Haniyeh. Israel did not comment on the incident, but told U.S. officials immediately afterward that it was responsible, said Washington Post.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of the anticipated attack, said the Pentagon in a statement. The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, was operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, said the US Navy.
Citing unnamed Israeli official, the report said that Tel Aviv expects that Iran has decided to directly attack Israel in response.
Reportedly, Israel has relayed to Iran and Hezbollah that targeting civilian population centers would be considered a red line for Israel, and Tel Aviv 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, as per the report.
At the same time, over five Western countries have called on Iran and its allies to refrain from anticipated attacks on Israel. The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy issued a joint statement on Monday expressing their “support for ongoing efforts to de-escalate tensions” in the Middle East, and to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place”, the statement read.
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The West is also endorsing the latest talks by the US, Qatar and Egypt to broker a truce agreement to end the 10-month-long war.
Iran and Hezbollah assert that they are not seeking an all-out war but they remain ready should it break out.
Earlier on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued a separate joint statement calling for de-escalation in the region.
“We call on Iran and its allies to refrain from attacks that would further escalate regional tensions and jeopardise the opportunity to agree a ceasefire and the release of hostages…The fighting must end now, and all hostages still detained by Hamas must be released. The people of Gaza need urgent and unfettered delivery and distribution of aid”, said the statement.
Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also held separate phone calls with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. According to a statement published by Iran’s official news agency IRNA following the phone call with Scholz, Pezeshkian said: “While emphasising diplomatic solutions to issues, Iran will never give in to pressure, to sanctions and to bullying and considers it has the right to respond to aggressors in accordance with international norms”.
