Operational Readiness of US Forces in Mideast Raised

Jerusalem, 22 October, 2023 (TPS) -- The Pentagon announced it was raising the operational readiness of US forces in the Middle East.

“These steps will bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a statement.

Missile defense batteries are being deployed to protect US forces, and that additional American forces were given orders to prepare for possible deployment, the statement said.

It added that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was moved to the Central Command area of responsibility and is en route to the Middle East.

The strike group will join the USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, which already arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The aircraft carriers are widely viewed as a deterrent to Hezbollah and Iran.

On Wednesday, US military bases in western Iraq were were attacked by drones, and on Thursday, a US garrison in Tanf, Syria, came under similar attack. No fatalities were reported.

On Thursday night, a US warship in the Red Sea shot down three missiles and several aerial drones fired from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels which were apparently heading towards Israel.