U.S. sends submarine, aircraft carrier to Middle East amid Iran-Israel attack fears
The U.S. is sending a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and speeding the arrival of an aircraft carrier strike group as Israel braces for retaliatory attacks from Iran and its proxies after the assassination of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
The U.S. is sending a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and speeding the arrival of an aircraft carrier strike group as Israel braces for retaliatory attacks from Iran and its proxies after the assassination of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.
"We’re following Hezbollah and Iran and ready,” the Israel Defense Forces spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said in a statement Monday evening. "We’re at highest alert."
The Defense Department confirmed late Sunday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered sending the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the region. He further ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is equipped with F-35C fighter jets, to accelerate its ongoing transit to the area.
The U.S. orders, and the rare step to publicly announce the deployment of a submarine, came as Austin reaffirmed Washington's "commitment to take every possible step to defend" its ally in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, according to a readout from the Pentagon.
Gallant "detailed IDF readiness and capabilities in the face of threats posed by Iran and its regional proxies, and discussed interoperability with the wide range of U.S. military capabilities deployed to the region," his office said.
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