The Pentagon said Tuesday that the United States has no intention of conducting offensive operations despite beefing up its forces in the Middle East. The Pentagon also said its primary focus is on de-escalating tensions.
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, “We have deployed additional forces to the region to allow us, as I emphasized, to protect our forces, but also to support the defense of Israel, should Israel come under attack.”
“I’m not going to speculate or hypothesize about when and if Iran launched an attack or one of their proxies launched an attack. Their public comments have been very clear. So we need to take that seriously. But our focus is on de-escalating the situation. Trying to allow for a ceasefire and getting the hostages back home.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided-missile submarine to move to the Middle East and asked the strike group, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, to speed up its approach to the region, as the United States said Monday it believed Iran or its proxies could launch an attack on Israel as early as this week.
The move, announced by the Defense Department on Sunday, comes as the United States and other allies push Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement that could help ease rising tensions in the region following the assassination of a political leader. Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.
Officials are wary of retaliatory strikes by Iran and Hezbollah over the killings, and the US has increased its presence in the region. (ab/ns)
