More Navy combat power has moved into position alongside the US destroyers that are helping shield Israel from Iranian missiles.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military movements, said the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner is now in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, joining destroyers USS Arleigh Burke and USS The Sullivans, and additional warships could be heading that way.
The official said Arleigh Burke and The Sullivans have, in recent days, launched missile interceptors in defense of Israel amid Iranian retaliatory attacks. It’s unclear if there have been confirmed intercepts.
The official said that in addition to sea-based air defense, the US military also provided land-based support to Israel. This potentially involved the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile battery or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system.
US warships helped provide air-defense coverage for Israel twice last year, in April and again in October, when Iran launched its first- and second-ever missile attacks against the country.
Since Friday, Iran has fired more than 370 ballistic missiles at Israel, killing two dozen people and wounding over 590 others. Many of the munitions have been intercepted, including by Israel’s advanced Arrow systems, which, like THAAD, can strike targets in space.
Iran’s missile and drone attacks are retaliatory and come after Israel launched operation “Rising Lion” aimed at severely degrading Tehran’s nuclear program, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had described as an existential threat to his country. Iran has said its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
Israeli fighter jets have carried out scores of airstrikes across Iran recently, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities and its leading scientists, as well as key military sites like weapons production facilities, missile launchers, and air defenses. Israel has also eliminated some of Tehran’s senior commanders.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Washington is not involved in Israel’s targeting of Iran’s nuclear program, limiting its participation to defensive efforts. Tehran has buried its most critical nuclear facilities underground, and Israel lacks the air-dropped weapons to reach them, meaning it likely can’t completely wipe out the nuclear program without the US help.
Beyond the warships in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Navy also has destroyers in the Red Sea and a carrier strike group elsewhere in the Middle East, with another carrier heading that way. All of these assets are capable of providing air defense, though it’s unlikely that all of them will take on that role.
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