The Pentagon is deploying warships and other military assets to the Middle East to help protect Israel and American troops from potential Iranian retaliation for Israeli strikes, reports Associated Press.
The naval destroyer U.S.S. Thomas Hudner has been ordered to move to the Eastern Mediterranean, and a second destroyer may soon follow, officials said. The Air Force is likely to soon deploy additional fighter jets to the region.
According to one Defense Department official, the deployment of military assets is not aimed at participating in any offensive against Iran. The redeployment of naval destroyers could enhance Israel's ability to shoot down ballistic missiles launched by Iran.
Although American military officials said on Friday that Israel has good air defense, they fear it may need assistance if Iran attempts to overcome this defense with a coordinated large-scale attack.
In October last year, American troops helped Israel repel a powerful barrage of rockets and drones launched by Iran after Israel killed a senior Hamas leader during his visit to Iran and then took action against a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon.
Currently, there are about 40,000 American troops in the region.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to eliminate military command in the Iranian leadership. Two senior Iranian government officials stated that General Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force responsible for the country's proxy operations in the Middle East, was killed. General Qaani replaced Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. strike in 2020.
Qaani is one of the key strategists of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Quds Force is an elite external operations unit of the IRGC, the main tool for exporting Iranian influence and Shiite ideology in the region. The Quds Force has had the greatest influence in Iraq and Syria.