The United States has moved two destroyers closer to Israel amid uncertainty over the timing of an expected Iranian response to the assassination of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran last week.
President Joe Biden convened a meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East. U.S. officials are unable to predict when or how Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, or Syria might retaliate against Israel for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and a top Hezbollah commander shortly before that.
Meanwhile, several U.S. personnel were injured in a suspected rocket attack on Al-Assad Airbase in Iraq, according to a U.S. defense official on Monday night. The base is currently assessing the damage from the attack.
The Pentagon has relocated the USS Cole and USS Laboon from the Gulf of Oman to the Red Sea following a Friday order to deploy additional fighter jets and ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to Europe and the Middle East in response to recent threats.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to maintain a carrier presence in the region.
Additionally, the Pentagon is preparing to deploy more land-based ballistic missile defense systems and dispatch another squadron of fighter jets.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Erik Kurilla visited Israel on Monday to meet with his counterparts for what the Israelis described as a “security assessment.” A second U.S. defense official mentioned that Kurilla was in the region but added that CENTCOM does not release specific locations.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking after a meeting with his Australian counterpart at the State Department, expressed concern about the current situation, emphasizing the need for de-escalation and the importance of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza to ease cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel.
U.S. and international officials have struggled to persuade Iran, Hezbollah, and other allied groups to reconsider or adjust their plans for retaliation. Diplomats in the region remain worried about the potential for further escalation, with one Western diplomat noting the difficulty in predicting the outcome and the significant risk of error.
