Defense Department to bolster Israeli defenses after assassinations in Iran and Beirut

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon moved Friday to bolster defenses in the Middle East as tensions spike following the assassinations of Iranian-backed militant leaders by Israel, officials said.

Late Friday, the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group in the region as well as additional ballistic missile defense warships, according to Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secertary.

Austin also ordered the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East, Singh said in a statement. A Defense official identified those warplanes as F-22s, the Air Force's most sophisticated warplanes. An attack by Iran or its proxies on Israel is expected, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

There was no sign late, however, that the attack was imminent, according to a senior administration offcial.

Air defense systems and U.S. military warplanes helped Israel defend against a barrage of missiles and drones that Iran fired in April. The Pentagon has the USS Theodore Roosevelt and guided-missile destroyers in the Middle East, Singh noted. But additional weaponry and the troops to operate them will likely be needed.

Israel and Hamas have been at war since Oct. 7 when militants killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostage. Iran has backed Hamas as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen, both of which have launched their own attacks on Israel.

On July 27, a Hezbollah attack in northern Israel killed 12 people mostly children.

Israel has vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders. On Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of Hamas, was apparently assassinated in Tehran. Hours before, Israel confirmed that it had killed Faud Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander, in Lebanon.

Iran and Hamas have pledged to retaliate.

Austin has spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, and assured him of the U.S. commitment to Israel's defense.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pentagon bolsters Middle East defense amid Israel-Iran tensions