U.S. beefs up posture in Middle East, warns an Iran-backed attack on Israel could come this week

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. The U.S. continues to beef up its military presence in the Middle East while Western leaders warn Iran to “stand down” its threats of an attack on Israel. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. John F. Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said Iran’s response to the killings “could be this week,” but that “it is difficult to ascertain at this particular time if there’s an attack by Iran or its proxies what it could look like.” He said the U.S. and its allies were preparing for a “significant set of attacks.” “The president is confident that we have the capability available to us to help defend Israel should it come to that,” Kirby said, adding, “Nobody wants to see it come to that.” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement that Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant earlier in the day, and reiterated America’s commitment “to take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions.” A joint statement from the leaders of the United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy “called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone Monday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and “expressed his great concern about the danger of a regional conflagration in the Middle East,” the German government said.