The Pentagon is bolstering its presence in the Middle East with ships, fighter planes and ballistic missile defense vessels as Israel faces threats from Iran to avenge assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
The moves announced Friday by the Defense Department came a day after the White House said President Joe Biden promised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. would provide new "defensive U.S. military deployments.”
The deployments include sending additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the U.S. European and Central Command regions, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement Friday. The U.S. is also taking steps "to increase our readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense,” Singh said, without explaining those moves.