US sends destroyers closer to Israel as officials scramble to predict Iran response

The US has shifted at least two destroyers already in the Middle East closer to Israel, with Washington unclear about the timing of an expected Iranian retaliation for the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran last week.

US President Joe Biden also chaired a meeting with his national security team in the Situation Room on Monday to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East. US officials are unable to gauge when Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen or Syria may carry out attacks on Israel to avenge the killing of Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas and a top Hezbollah commander hours before that.

In contrast to April’s Iranian retaliation against Israel for a deadly strike against diplomatic facilities in Syria, Tehran has done little to telegraph the timing or type of its anticipated retaliation. It is also unclear if the so-called ‘axis of resistance’ will carry out a coordinated operation or conduct separate responses.

On Monday night, a US defense official said that several Americans were injured in a suspected rocket attack today against US and Coalition forces at Al-Assad Airbase in Iraq. “Initial indications are that several US personnel were injured. Base personnel are conducting a post-attack damage assessment,” the official told Al Arabiya English.

The relocation of the USS Cole and USS Laboon from the Gulf of Oman to the Red Sea comes after Friday’s order by the Pentagon to deploy additional fighter jets along with additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to Europe and the Middle East in response to the recent threats.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group to maintain a strike group presence in the region.

The Pentagon is also taking steps to prepare to deploy additional land-based BMD systems and dispatch another squadron of fighter jets.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Erik Kurilla was in Israel on Monday to meet with his counterparts for what the Israelis said was a “security assessment.” A second US defense official said Kurilla was in the region but added that CENTCOM does not release specific locations.
‘Critical moment’

Speaking after a meeting with his Australian counterpart at the State Department, the top US diplomat said the world was looking on with concern at this “critical moment.”

“We are engaged in intense diplomacy pretty much around the clock with a very simple message: All parties must refrain from escalation, all parties must take steps to ease tensions,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

“Escalation is not in anyone’s interest. It will only lead to more conflicts, more violence, more insecurity. It’s also critical that we break this cycle by reaching a ceasefire in Gaza,” Blinken said, adding that this would allow for more calm in the region, not just in Gaza.

US officials have said that a ceasefire in Gaza would allow Hezbollah and Israel to dial back their cross-border attacks, which have been taking place since Oct. 8 when the Lebanese group said it was carrying out operations in support of Gaza.

“It is urgent that all parties make the right choices and the hours and days ahead,” Blinken added.

The US and much of the international community have been unable to convince Iran, Hezbollah and other groups it backs to calibrate or rethink its decision to retaliate against Israel.

Diplomats in the region continue to look on with concern about the possibility of further escalation. One Western diplomat, speaking not to attribution, told Al Arabiya English that it was clear there would be a significant response from Iran and its proxies.

The diplomat said it was worrying how the response was being calibrated when “it’s almost impossible to guarantee the outcome... and so much space for error.”