US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East, the Pentagon announced on Sunday.
The news comes as the region prepares for possible assaults by Iran and its allies following the deaths of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, Reuters reported.
The “USS Georgia,” a nuclear-powered submarine, was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July, according to a US Navy social media post.
The US military has already stated that it will send more fighter planes and Navy vessels to the Middle East to reinforce Israeli defense.
Meanwhile, China is supporting Iran in preserving its “sovereignty, security, and national dignity,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iran’s acting foreign minister over the phone on Sunday, AlArabia said.
Yi reiterated Beijing’s condemnation of Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran on July 31, saying the strike violated Iran’s sovereignty and harmed regional stability.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of carrying out the strike that killed Haniyeh.
Israel has neither acknowledged nor disputed responsibility for the assassination, raising concerns that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is escalating further into the Middle East
Iran has pledged to “harshly punish” Israel over the killing and raised the symbolic revenge flag in Qom city.
Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, stated that “it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.”
He stated that it was Iran’s responsibility to seek revenge for the killing of Haniyeh, who was in the Iranian capital for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s recent inauguration.
Pezeshkian warned that his country will “defend its territory” and make the invaders “regret their cowardly action.”