A U.S. Navy destroyer has docked at the Israeli port of Eilat, Israel's Ynet news website reported on Friday, citing the military, as tensions between Washington and Iran escalate.
Eilat, Israel © Mena Today
A U.S. Navy destroyer has docked at the Israeli port of Eilat, Israel's Ynet news website reported on Friday, citing the military, as tensions between Washington and Iran escalate.
Ynet said the arrival of the destroyer at the southern port on the Gulf of Aqaba, near Israel's borders with Egypt and Jordan, was pre-planned and part of ongoing cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli militaries.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The deployment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump signalled he was open to talks with Iran, even as Washington dispatched additional military assets to the Middle East.
A U.S. defence official told Reuters the military could not discuss operational details for security reasons, adding that the safety of service personnel was the top priority.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military was prepared to carry out whatever course of action the president decides.
Trump has warned Iran to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme or face far harsher U.S. action, while Tehran has threatened retaliation against the United States, Israel and their allies in the event of an attack.
Trump has also said the U.S. has an "armada" heading towards Iran, though he said he hoped it would not be used.
Israel's Chief of the General Staff said last week that the military was prepared for a range of scenarios and was continuously improving its capabilities.
The commander of U.S. Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, visited Israel last week in a trip the Israeli military said was aimed at deepening strategic ties and strengthening defence cooperation between the two allies.
Reporting by Jana Choukeir in Dubai, Rami Ayyub and Pesha Magid in Jerusalem
An Iranian parliamentary committee is reviewing a preliminary bill that would bar U.S., Israeli and other "hostile" vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a lawmaker.
With President Donald Trump’s war against Iran now in its sixth month, this week's flurry of threats and diplomacy has underscored the ever-tighter bind he finds himself in as he tries to extricate the U.S. from an unpopular conflict he originally claimed would last just weeks.
At least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in Houthi attacks on military camps in the provinces of Marib and Hadramout, government sources said on Thursday.
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