US announces new military deployments to Middle East

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East, the Pentagon said Friday.

"In keeping with our commitments to the protection of U.S. citizens and forces in the Middle East, the defense of Israel, and de-escalation through deterrence and diplomacy, the Secretary of Defense ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several U.S. Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region," spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement, News.Az reports.

The forces will begin to arrive in the coming months as the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group prepares to depart, he noted.

"These deployments build on the recent decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel as well as DoD’s sustained Amphibious Ready Group Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) posture in the Eastern Mediterranean," said Ryder.

The US will take "every measure necessary" to defend its people if "Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region," he added.

News.Az