The U.S. has increased force readiness in the Middle East by sending a few thousand personnel to the region and several Air Force fighter squadrons, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday.
Mr. Austin told his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, that the U.S. is “well postured” to defend U.S. interests and those of its allies and “is determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict in the region.”
“The secretary and Minister Gallant discussed the severe consequences for Iran in the event Iran chooses to launch a direct military attack against Israel,” according to a statement released by Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that it launched missiles at Israel, targeting what the Iranians called “the heart of the occupied territories” in response to the recent killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah by an Israeli airstrike and for the death of Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of the Hamas political bureau. Haniyeh was killed in July by a remotely-controlled explosive device in Tehran while he was attending the inauguration of newly elected Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“If the Zionist regime reacts to Iran’s operation, it will face heavy attacks,” the Iranian corps said Tuesday in a statement to the official Fars News Agency.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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