The Pentagon has said it will deploy additional resources to the Middle East in the coming months, as concern grows that Iran may soon retaliate for Israeli strikes on its territory.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had ordered the deployment of fighter aircraft, ballistic missile defense destroyers and B-52 long-range bombers, to assist in the defense of Israel and other U.S. interests in the region.
“Secretary Austin continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” General Ryder said in a statement late Friday.
Israel struck targets inside Iran late last month in retaliation for an Oct. 1 attack that Iran launched on central Israel. Iran initially appeared to play down the damage caused by the Israeli strike, raising hopes that it might de-escalate the situation rather than pursue a new cycle of retaliation.
But in recent days, Iranian officials have said their country would strike back. On Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Israel would receive “a jaw-breaking response,” according to Iranian state media.
His comments came one day after two other Iranian officials said that Iran would retaliate, with one telling state news media that a response would be “definite” and a second saying Iran would launch “a fierce” response.
The United States has already bolstered its military presence in the region as tensions rise. It sent an advanced missile defense system, called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, and the 100 American troops needed to operate it, to Israel.
Their arrival less than two weeks ago marked the first time that U.S. troops had been deployed to Israel for such a mission since the start of the war last October.
The Biden administration sent key envoys, including the C.I.A. director, to the Middle East this week in hopes of generating some momentum in talks to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and its spiraling conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are Iranian proxies. But those efforts have floundered, and the fighting has continued unabated.
On Friday, heavy Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in central Lebanon, according to the Lebanese authorities, and seven people in Israel were killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks in the country’s north.
A direct rocket strike early on Saturday hit Tira, an Arab-majority town in central Israel, and injured several people. The Israeli military said that three rocket launches had been detected from Lebanon, including at the region that includes Tira.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, said 11 people were wounded in Tira, with most of the injuries minor to moderate. A photo and a video posted by the emergency service showed the top floor of a building with its walls blown out.
Hezbollah started striking Israel in solidarity with Hamas, its ally in Gaza, after Israel began the war in Gaza last year in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks.
After nearly a year of cross-border attacks that primarily landed in the border region, the group in recent months has taken aim deeper inside Israel. In September, Hezbollah launched missiles at the densely populated Tel Aviv area in September and October. Those were intercepted with no reported injuries or damages.
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