The United States said on Friday it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.
A B-52 Stratofortress, flown by Capt. Will Byers and Maj. Tom Aranda, prepares for refueling over Afghanistan during a close-air-support mission in this undated handout photo. U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Lance Cheung/Handout via Reuters
The United States said on Friday it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.
The Pentagon said in a statement that deployments would take place in the coming months and demonstrated the flexibility of the U.S. military movements around the world.
"Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
The United States has had as many as two aircraft carriers in the Middle East during the past year of soaring tensions since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Oct. 2023.
The Lincoln's withdrawal will create an aircraft carrier gap until another is cycled into the Middle East.
The latest adjustment in U.S. forces in the region follows direct exchanges of fire in October between Israel and Iran. Israel is also fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and has carried out strikes in Yemen after coming under attack from Iran-aligned Houthi fighters.
The United States has pledged to help defend Israel against attack and to safeguard U.S. forces in the Middle East, who have been attacked by Iran-backed groups in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and off the coast of Yemen.
Reporting by Phil Stewart
The Lebanese army said on Saturday that six soldiers were killed and others wounded in an explosion while they were inspecting a weapons depot and dismantling its contents in the southern city of Tyre.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Israel’s plan to expand its military operations in the Gaza Strip, claiming such actions would worsen what it called an already dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday welcomed the U.S.-brokered peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku, while warning against “any foreign intervention” in light of the development rights granted to Washington in a strategic corridor near Iran’s border.
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