US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to “accelerate” its transition to the Middle East, as the concern that a regional conflagration is imminent is not going to intensify, against the background of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, the Pentagon announced yesterday Sunday.
The general e.a. Austin ordered the carrier strike force, which carries F-35C fighters, to move faster, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said, because of the risk of a full-scale attack by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, or directly. from Iran itself, against Israeli territory.
Mr Austin, who held talks with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallad yesterday, also ordered the USS Georgia nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine to be deployed to the area, Mr Ryder added.
According to the spokesman, the two men also discussed operations in the Gaza Strip, the need to reduce “civilian harm”, to make “progress towards a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages” held in the enclave. , as well as to prevent attacks by organizations close to Iran.
Tensions escalated further after the killing of the leader of Hezbollah’s military arm, Fouad Shukr, in an Israeli bombardment in a southern suburb of Beirut, and that of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniya in Tehran, also attributed to Israel.
Washington already announced last week the strengthening of its forces in the Middle East, in particular deploying warships and fighter jets. The USS Abraham Lincoln will join the USS Theodore Roosevelt, another aircraft carrier already in the area.
#Fears #largescale #attack #Israel #sends #aircraft #carrier
