The Pentagon has ordered additional troops and weaponry to the Middle East as the Biden administration seeks to stop Iran and Hezbollah from widening the Israel-Hamas war.
John Kirby, a White House spokesman on national security matters, said Monday that the U.S. “has added additional military forces to the region and more forces will be coming in days and weeks ahead to try to deter any action from widening or deepening this conflict.”
Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered additional Terminal High Altitude Defense and Patriot anti-aircraft systems to the Middle East while putting additional troops on prepare-to-deploy orders, according to Defense officials who briefed reporters anonymously under department rules. The Pentagon has already sent two carrier strike groups to the region.
The moves come after Kirby said the U.S. has identified an “uptick” in rocket and drone attacks by Iranian-backed proxy groups against military bases housing U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria.