US sends submarine to Middle East as tensions grow
The United States has deployed a guided missile submarine to the Middle East as tensions in the region escalate.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that an aircraft carrier already en route to the area would accelerate its arrival.
This action is a response to growing concerns of a broader regional conflict following the recent assassination of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.
The move underscores the US’s commitment to defending Israel from potential Iranian attacks, with Austin affirming that the US would “take every possible step” to protect its ally.
Iran’s reaction is being closely monitored, particularly in the wake of the assassination of Hamas’s top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on July 31.
Iran has accused Israel of carrying out the assassination and has vowed retaliation. While Israel has not officially commented, it is widely suspected to be responsible.
On Sunday, the Pentagon announced that Austin had ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the region.
the Pentagon said Mr Austin had sent the the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the region.
It had also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which is carrying F-35C fighter jets, to accelerate its journey there. The ship was already on its way to replace another US ship in the region.
It remains unclear what Iran could be planning to do.
Meanwhile, another possible attack on Israel could come from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia and political movement in Lebanon.
The group has vowed to respond to the killing by Israel of senior commander Fuad Shukr, which happened just hours before Mr Haniyeh’s assassination, in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Professor Mehran Kamrava, from Georgetown University in Qatar, said the US publicly sending a submarine was “meant as a deterrence against Iran and Hezbollah”.
But he suggested that in private, “there might be some indication that Iran is actually up to something and is going to strike”.
The Biden administration believes a ceasefire in Gaza that frees Israeli hostages would be the best way to calm tensions in the region, and has called for talks to resume on Thursday.
But on Sunday night, Hamas responded to US efforts to revive the ceasefire talks by saying Israel should be forced to implement the deal already on the table.
Hamas said that any resumption of ceasefire talks about the conflict in Gaza should be based on previous plans rather than holding new rounds of negotiations.
However its statement indicated an agreement in principle to participate.
Washington has previously blamed Hamas for the failure of negotiations.
But Israeli press reports say the US increasingly sees Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as partly responsible – because he is accused of appeasing far-right members of his coalition who are opposed to a deal.
Last week, for the first time the White House openly criticised one of these coalition leaders, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Mr Smotrich had urged Israel to reject the US push for ceasefire talks, saying it would be a surrender to Hamas. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Mr Smotrich was “dead wrong” and accused him of making false claims.
Meanwhile the leaders of the UK, France and Germany echoed calls for ceasefire talks to resume.
“We agree that there can be no further delay,” said the statement from UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
“We have been working with all parties to prevent escalation and will spare no effort to reduce tensions and find a path to stability.”
