WASHINGTON: The US has prepared for what could be significant attacks by Iran or its proxies in West Asia as soon as this week, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.
Kirby said the US had increased its regional force posture and shared Israel’s concerns about a possible Iranian-backed attack after Iran and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas accused Israel of carrying out the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran last month.”We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here. Could be this week,” Kirby told reporters.
Israel has been braced for a major attack since last month when a missile killed 12 youngsters in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Israel responded by killing a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut. A day after that operation, Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran, drawing Iranian vows of retaliation against Israel.
“We obviously don’t want to see Israel have to defend itself against another onslaught, like they did in April. But, if that’s what comes at them, we will continue to help them defend themselves,” Kirby said.
The Pentagon said on Sunday that defence secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to West Asia. While the USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine, was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July, according to a US military post on social media, it was a rare move to publicly announce the deployment of a submarine. In a statement after Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, the Pentagon said Austin had ordered the Abraham Lincoln strike group to accelerate its deployment to the region.