The United States has decided to send a carrier strike group, a squadron of fighter jets, and additional warships to the Middle East as the region braces for Iranian retaliation following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, in Tehran early last Wednesday.
This may be the largest movement of U.S. forces to the region since the early days of the Gaza War when the Pentagon sent two carrier strike groups to the Middle East in a highly publicized warning to regional armed groups not to expand the fighting.
John Kirby, spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council, told CNN: “We have heard the Supreme Leader loud and clear that he intends to retaliate for the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, and that they want to launch another attack on Israel… We cannot assume that we might be victims of this type of attack, so we must ensure we have the appropriate resources and capabilities in the region.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group on Friday to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, which is currently operating in the Gulf of Oman, according to a statement from Sabrina Singh, Deputy Press Secretary for the Pentagon.
