The Pentagon on Saturday stepped up US military readiness in the Middle East in response to what it said were “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces” across the region.
The US has sent a significant amount of naval power to the Middle East in the past few weeks, including two aircraft carriers, their support ships and about 2,000 Marines.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the activation of air defense systems and notified additional forces that they might be deployed soon.
Photo: AFP / Robert Durr / Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
Austin did not say how many US troops would be added to those already in the region.
The Pentagon’s moves came after what Austin described in a statement as “detailed discussions” with US President Joe Biden.
“These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel,” Austin said.
The moves continued the Biden administration’s response since Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip stormed Israel on Oct. 7, taking more than 200 people hostage and killing at least 1,400 people, Israeli officials said.
Israel has since vowed to destroy Hamas, and has said that about 1,500 of the group’s fighters were killed in clashes before its army regained control of the area initially under attack.
Austin said he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and additional Patriot battalions “throughout the region.”
“Finally, I have placed an additional number of forces on prepare to deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning, to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required,” he said.
The deployments come two years after the Biden administration withdrew air defense systems from the Middle East, citing a reduction in tensions with Iran.
The Patriot, considered one of the most advanced US air defense systems, is usually in short supply, with allies around the world vying for it.
The THAAD system has a powerful radar. US deployment of the system to South Korea in 2016 angered China, which believed it could peer into its airspace.
Armed factions close to Iran have threatened to attack US interests in Iraq over Washington’s support for Israel. One of them, the Hezbollah Brigades, demanded that US forces “leave” Iraq, “otherwise they will taste the fires of hell.”
US troops stationed at two bases in Iraq were targeted with rocket attacks on Friday that caused no casualties, while yesterday Katyusha rockets targeted the Ain al-Asad Air Base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq, and one blast was heard inside the facility, two army sources said.
On Saturday, defense systems at Ain al-Asad intercepted and shot down two drones while they were hovering near the base.
A statement issued on Telegram channels used by pro-Iranian armed groups said the attack was carried out by an organization calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.
Since Wednesday, three Iraqi bases used by US-led coalition troops have been targeted in five separate attacks — Ain al-Assad, the Al-Harir Air Base in northern Iraq and a military camp near Baghdad International Airport.
The US currently has about 2,500 troops stationed at the three bases, alongside about 1,000 soldiers from other countries in the coalition set up to fight the Islamic State.
Additional reporting by Reuters
ON THE MOVE: Trump unexpectedly cut short a trip to return to the White House, while the State Department warned Americans to avoid travel to the Middle East The US on Saturday warned that hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis could “escalate rapidly” after a missile attack targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed. US President Donald Trump on Saturday cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House. The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition led
The US military came close to boarding a Chinese vessel in the Middle East earlier this year based on a flawed intelligence report prepared with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), CNN said on Friday. US intelligence indicated the ship was carrying nuclear weapons-related components, leading US forces to prepare to intercept it, the broadcaster reported, citing four anonymous sources familiar with the incident. However, the operation was called off after officials determined that an AI chatbot used by an analyst had misidentified the material the ship was carrying. The report was “entirely false,” but “almost started a war,” CNN quoted one source
World leaders gather in New York this week for the UN General Assembly, bracing for US President Donald Trump’s return to the rostrum for a second year running, with talks centering on the widening conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). Nearly 130 heads of state meet with the post-World War II order under strain and with the UN itself struggling to remain relevant and weathering attacks from Trump, who has slashed the US’ contributions and withdrawn from dozens of UN bodies. Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), who last addressed the diplomatic jamboree via video
Typhoon Dujuan forced the cancellation of at least 275 flights in Japan today and prompted warnings of potentially record-breaking rainfall as the storm nears Tokyo. The typhoon, which is accompanied by high winds, has also led to the early closure in Tokyo of one the world’s biggest video game trade fairs and knocked out power for thousands. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned yesterday that rain and winds were expected to intensify even before the typhoon’s arrival. “The total rainfall through Tuesday could exceed the average monthly rainfall for September, resulting in record-breaking heavy rain,” the agency said. The typhoon’s wind speeds were at
RSS