The US is building a military presence in the Middle East in a clear message to Iran to stay on the sidelines.
The Pentagon has placed roughly 2,000 Army, Air Force personnel and a range of units on a state of readiness as Israel prepares to launch a ground invasion into Gaza to fight against Hamas.
Within hours of the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, the US began moving warships, jets and special forces to the region.
Two aircraft carriers – including the USS Gerald R. Ford – have been sent to the eastern Mediterranean along with planes that could carry out airstrikes.
Even more planes have been dispatched to US military bases in the region, including F-15 and F-16 fighter jet squadrons.
In addition, around 2,000 US Marines trained in special operations have been redirected from Kuwait and are now on board two warships somewhere off the coast of Bahrain.
The increased military presence in the Middle East reflects concern in Washington that Hezbollah or Iran could escalate the crisis into even more chaos.
Before being ordered on its latest mission, the USS Gerald R. Ford had just completed an exercise with the Italian Navy. It has a crew of 5,000 and carries 90 warplanes, including F-18 Super Hornet jets and F-35 strike fighters.
The carrier is complete with an arsenal of weapons like missiles and a close-in weapon system, which is used to fire armor piercing bullets.
A second aircraft carrier – the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – will arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in about a week and will be accompanied by four other warships.
Known as ‘Ike’, the carrier holds 5,000 sailors and can bring up to nine squadrons of aircraft, including fighter jets and helicopters.
Much of the US operation would be expected to be coordinated from the Forward HQ of the US Central Command at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US base in the Middle East.
A spokesperson told the Military Times: “Should they be ordered, they could participate in some type of operation in support of Israel.”
Meanwhile, a small team of special operations forces has been sent to Israel to help recover hostages, including Americans, being held by Hamas.
A Pentagon spokesperson said: “This increases our ability to respond quickly to the evolving security environment in the Middle East.
“No decisions have been made to deploy any forces at this time. The Defense Secretary will continue to assess our force posture and remain in close contact with allies and partners.”
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, has reportedly stockpiled up to 150,000 rockets and missiles and could fire them far into Israel.
The Iranian Foreign Minister said on Monday: “All possible options and scenarios are there for Hezbollah. Any pre-emptive measure is imaginable in the coming hours.”
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