U.S. Deploys 12 Warships to Middle East to “Defend” Israel From Iran,Hezbollah
The United States has deployed 12 warships to the Middle East, as reported by Defense Department officials to the Washington Post amidst escalating tensions in the region following the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders by Israel.
(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The United States has deployed 12 warships to the Middle East, as reported by Defense Department officials to the Washington Post amidst escalating tensions in the region following the assassinations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders by Israel.
The U.S. naval fleet includes the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, comprising three amphibious ships carrying over 4,000 U.S. Marines.
Currently, the USS Theodore Roosevelt is operating in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, accompanied by six Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, including the USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) and USS Laboon (DDG-58).
Four additional Arleigh Burke-class destroyers—USS Russel (DDG-59), USS Cole (DDG-67), USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), and USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118)—are also part of the fleet.
The Wasp Amphibious Ready Group consists of USS Wasp (LHD-1), USS New York (LPD-21), USS Oak Hill (LSD-51), and 2,500 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
This group, currently sailing in the Mediterranean Sea near Israeli waters, includes the USS Roosevelt (DDG-80) and USS Bulkeley (DDG-84).
Both the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group carry hundreds of fighter jets, which the U.S. is poised to use to defend Israel from missile and drone attacks, whether from Iran or its proxies in the Middle East.
According to senior U.S. Defense Department officials, the rising tensions in the Middle East have not prompted Washington to increase its troop numbers in the region, suggesting that the current military presence is deemed sufficient to defend its primary ally, Israel.
Following the assassinations of Hezbollah’s armed group chief of staff, Fouad Shukr, in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut, Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and an IRGC military advisor in Beirut, the Middle East has become increasingly unstable.
Hezbollah and Iran have threatened large-scale retaliation.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah stated yesterday that Israel had crossed a “red line” with the killings of Ismail Haniyeh and Fouad Shukr, and must now face “anger and revenge” on all fronts.
He asserted that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has entered a “new phase,” and that Israel will “weep” in the coming days for its brutal actions against Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin declared that the United States would defend Israel if it were attacked. — DSA
