U.S. deploys additional military forces to Middle East amid intensifying regional tensions: Pentagon

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered additional bomber aircraft and Navy warships to the Middle East, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News on Friday. 

Austin is sending several B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft, tanker aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to Fox News. 

This comes as reports Iran may retaliate following Israel’s strikes last week that took out Iran’s three remaining S-300 air defense systems.

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The strategic move from the U.S. military arrives as Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza and engagements with Hezbollah in Lebanon have recently intensified. The Biden administration has been clear about its position to both defend Israel and safeguard American interests in the region.

“The supreme objective that I have set for the IDF and the security services is to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons,” said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Thursday at a graduation ceremony for soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “Halting the nuclear program has been – and remains – our chief concern. 

“I have not taken, we have not taken, and we will not take, our eyes off this objective,” added Netanyahu.

It is unclear if the military resources sent will be in Israel, Iran, or elsewhere at this time.

The long-range, nuclear-capable B-52 bombers have frequently been sent to the Middle East in past displays of U.S. resolve toward Iran. The U.S. recently deployed B-2 stealth bombers to Yemen, striking Houthi targets in October.

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Officials have not disclosed the precise number of U.S. aircraft and ships which will be moved, but the overall troop count may decrease with the USS Abraham Lincoln’s departure. 

The Lincoln’s departure from the region back to its home port in San Diego, scheduled for mid-November, could remove up to 5,000 sailors from the Middle East. There is no immediate aircraft carrier replacement, officials told the Associated Press.

This gap in carrier presence, seen as a deterrent against regional threats, will be bridged by deploying additional Navy destroyers. Navy destroyers which carry ballistic missile defense systems may be sourced from either the Indo-Pacific region or Europe.

While officials have not specified the duration of this gap in aircraft carrier presence to the Associated Press, the USS Harry S. Truman and its three supporting warships are expected to move to the Mediterranean Sea after finishing NATO exercises in the North Sea. 

The Lincoln, along with two of its destroyers, is currently stationed in the Gulf of Oman. Another destroyer operates in the Red Sea with U.S. warships.

The U.S. maintains a Marine amphibious ready group and two destroyers in the Mediterranean.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.