Pentagon sends fighter squadron to Middle East as part of force posture adjustment

US Navy will maintain a carrier strike group in the region and bring in additional missile defence capabilities

The USS Abraham Lincoln during exercises off Japan in 2022. US Navy / AP

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The Pentagon is adjusting the position of its forces in the Middle East to help further defend Israel as it braces for a response from Iran and its proxies over the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Among the moves announced on Friday, the Pentagon said it is sending a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and has ordered additional ballistic missile defence-capable cruisers and destroyers to the region.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin “has ordered adjustments to US military posture designed to improve US force protection, to increase support for the defence of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to various contingencies”, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Mr Austin spoke to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday about the plans.

“The Secretary reiterated ironclad support for Israel’s security and informed the minister of additional measures, to include ongoing and future defensive force posture changes that the department will take to support the defence of Israel,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters.

“It certainly could mean additional capabilities and people in the region.”

The US Navy will maintain an aircraft carrier in the region, the Pentagon said, sending the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, currently on deployment in the US Central Command area of responsibility.

The Pentagon “continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran’s partners and proxies”, the statement read.

“We don't want to see an escalation. We want to see things to de-escalate and because of that, we are committing defensive capabilities to the region,” Ms Singh said.

“We not want to see this spread out to a wider regional conflict. We don't believe it has to right now. We're going to continue to urge for de-escalation and the best way for that to happen is for this ceasefire deal to come through.”

Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in a Beirut suburb on Tuesday and is presumed to have killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on Thursday that the actions will usher in a “new phase” of the multi-front conflict that will make Israel “weep”.

Israel is widely suspected of carrying out the Tehran attack, but has not officially claimed it.

Israeli defence officials say they are coordinating with the US and UK ahead of an expected strike by Iran, setting the stage for a repeat of a similar attack by Tehran in April that was repelled by allies.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement on Friday that he spoke with Mr Austin and UK Defence Secretary John Healey to provide “a situational assessment in light of recent security developments.”