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go through Francesca Gillette and Barbara Platt UsherBBC News
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) in the Arabian Sea.
photo: Photo/AFP
The United States has sent a missile submarine to the Middle East as tensions in the region rise.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also said an aircraft carrier already en route to the region would sail at a faster pace.
Following the recent assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, fears of a wider regional conflict have arisen.
It showed the US’s determination to help Israel defend against any attack from Iran – Austin said the US would “take every possible measure” to defend its ally.
Iran is being closely watched to see how and when it responds to the July 31 assassination of Hamas top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The Iranians have accused Israel of assassinating Haniyeh on their soil and have vowed to punish Israel. Israel has not yet commented, but it is widely believed that Israel was behind the assassination.
The Pentagon said in a statement on Sunday that Austin had dispatched the USS Georgia, a guided-missile submarine, to the region.
It also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which is carrying F-35C fighter jets, to speed there.
The ship was on its way to replace another U.S. ship in the area.
It is unclear what Iran might be planning to do.
Meanwhile, another attack on Israel could come from the Iran-backed Lebanese militia and political movement Hezbollah.
The group vowed to respond to Israel’s killing of senior commander Fuad Shoukr, which took place hours before Haniyeh’s assassination in a southern suburb of Beirut.
The Biden administration believes a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages are the best way to calm tensions in the region and called for negotiations to resume on Thursday.
But late Sunday, Hamas responded to U.S. efforts to restart ceasefire talks, saying Israel should be forced to implement the agreement already reached.
Hamas said any resumption of ceasefire talks in the Gaza conflict should be based on previous plans rather than a new round of negotiations, but its statement said it agreed in principle to participate.
Washington has previously blamed Hamas for the breakdown of the talks, but Israeli media reports say the United States increasingly holds Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partly responsible as he is accused of appeasing far-right members of the coalition who oppose the deal.
Last week, the White House publicly criticized one of the coalition leaders, Treasury Secretary Bezalel Smotrich, for the first time.
Smotrich had urged Israel to reject ceasefire talks pushed by the United States, saying it would mean surrender to Hamas.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Smotrich was “completely wrong” and accused him of making false accusations.
At the same time, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany also called for the resumption of ceasefire negotiations.
“We agree that there can be no further delay,” British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement.
“We have been working with all parties to prevent an escalation of the situation and will spare no effort to reduce tensions and find a path to stability.”
– BBC
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