Pentagon: U.S. Military Movements in the Region Affect Tehran's Calculations for Attack

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense stated that recent changes in the U.S. military posture and equipment in the Middle East have sent a "powerful message for deterrence" to Iran and will affect Iran's calculations. Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokesperson, said during a press conference on Thursday evening, September 1, that the deployment of forces and recent movements of U.S. ships in the region also send the message that "if needed to defend Israel, the U.S. stands with Israel." Following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior official of the extremist group Hamas, in northern Tehran, Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that they will take revenge on Israel. However, more than three weeks after this event, there is still no news of Tehran's response. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union. The Pentagon's order for the repositioning of U.S. equipment in the region and increased support for Israel comes as tensions in the region, which have escalated since the start of the Hamas war ten and a half months ago, peaked with repeated threats from Tehran in August. Last week, the U.S. and four European countries warned Tehran to avoid igniting war and escalating conflicts. In response to these heightened tensions, the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was dispatched to the Persian Gulf at the direction of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it was announced on Wednesday that this strike group is now stationed in the U.S. Central Command area, CENTCOM. Sabrina Singh also mentioned other recent military repositioning, including the movement of the Theodore Roosevelt strike group and the deployment of the Georgia submarine in regional waters. In response to a question about the possibility of an Iranian attack on Israel at the beginning of Masoud Pezeshkian's presidency, Singh said: "I can only talk about U.S. military movements, and we have sent the message that we are there for deterrence and, of course, to defend our forces and Israel." On the evening of Tuesday, August 9, the Israeli army announced an airstrike in southern Beirut that killed Fouad Shukr, the highest-ranking commander of the Hezbollah group, in retaliation for an attack in the Majdal Shams area. The spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guard stated that the killing of Ismail Haniyeh was attributed to Israel and announced the time of the incident as around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, August 10. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have not officially claimed responsibility for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and in the only comment on this matter, Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated that the army did not conduct any air, missile, or drone strikes in the Middle East other than the operation targeting Fouad Shukr on that Tuesday night. This week, Ali-Mohammad Naeini, spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guard, said that the wait for Iran's response to the action attributed to Israel may take longer.