WASHINGTON - The U.S. has announced the deployment to the Middle East of additional military capabilities amid an escalation in the region.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "ordered the deployment of additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several U.S. Air Force B-52 long-range strike bombers to the region," Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said on Friday.
Combined with the decision to deploy an advanced air defense battery to Israel and reinforcement of U.S. forces to the eastern Mediterranean, the measures are intended to strengthen security in the region and deter a further escalation.
"The reinforcement is to take place in the coming months, while the U.S. aircraft carrier 'Abraham Lincoln' and its escort ships are being prepared for withdrawal from the region," Ryder added.