Iran, Israel Retaliatory Attacks Imminent... US Warship Rapidly Deployed

If Early, on the 5th, Heightened Alert Status

Tensions in the Middle East are escalating as Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel is expected to be imminent.

Protesters in Palestine Square, Tehran, Iran, are condemning the assassination of Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to foreign media on the 3rd (local time), three U.S. and Israeli officials stated that Iran's attack on Israel is expected to take place as early as the 5th.

On the 31st of last month, Ismail Haniyeh, the top political leader of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Iran and Hamas have pointed to Israel as the perpetrator of the attack. Iran is reportedly considering mobilizing groups such as Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthi rebels to increase the destructive power of the attack.

Israel is maintaining a high state of alert and strengthening its preparedness through various measures including military exercises. Residents have been urged to prepare food and water in safe evacuation spaces within their homes. Paramedics conducted emergency drills assuming the outbreak of a full-scale war.

The United States has decided to reinforce its naval and air forces in the Middle East. On the 2nd, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the approval of deploying multiple naval cruisers and destroyers equipped with ballistic missile defense capabilities to the Middle East and Europe. Secretary Austin also ordered the dispatch of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East and the deployment of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln strike group to maintain one carrier strike group in the region.