The United States is preparing for both scenarios: reinforcing its military deployment in the Middle East and launching shuttle diplomacy
2024-08-07
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As tensions in the Middle East escalate following the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh, the U.S. military has once again stepped up its military deployment in the region. At the same time, the United States has launched extensive Middle East diplomacy.
US Secretary of Defense Austin Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Aaron)
According to a Xinhua News Agency report on August 3, US Defense Secretary Austin has approved the dispatch of more Navy cruisers and destroyers that can shoot down ballistic missiles to the Middle East and Europe, and will also send an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East. In addition, the US Navy's "Theodore Roosevelt" aircraft carrier strike group is currently stationed in the Middle East, and Austin has decided to send the "Abraham Lincoln" aircraft carrier strike group to replace it when it completes its current mission. The Pentagon also plans to deploy more land-based ballistic missile defense systems in the Middle East.
Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Defense, said it would "enhance the protection of U.S. forces throughout the Middle East, provide additional support for Israel's defense, and ensure the United States is prepared to respond to this evolving crisis."
According to CCTV News, on August 5 local time, US Central Command Commander Kurila held talks with Israeli Defense Minister Galant and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Halevi to coordinate defense against possible attacks by Iran.
The U.S. State Department said on August 5 that at a "critical moment" in the Middle East, the United States has been urging other countries to warn Iran through diplomatic channels that an escalation of the situation in the Middle East is not in their interests.
Tensions in the Middle East have risen again since Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in the early hours of July 31. According to a Reuters report on August 5, Iran said it did not want to escalate regional tensions, but that Israel must be "punished."
Al Jazeera reported on August 6 that Lebanon's Hezbollah said in a statement that it launched a series of drone attacks on the headquarters of Israel's Golani Brigade and the headquarters of the elite commando Egoz Force, "accurately hitting the target and causing casualties." The statement added that the group's response to Israel's attack on Beirut that killed senior military commander Fuad Shukur "has not yet arrived."
US military deployment in the Middle East
The United States has once again strengthened its military presence in the Middle East. How much U.S. military force is currently deployed in the region?
In terms of the navy, according to Al Arabiya on August 3, a US official confirmed last week that the United States has deployed at least 12 warships in the Middle East. According to Fox News on the 4th, the 12 known US warships are mainly distributed in the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf of Oman.
In the eastern Mediterranean, the US military has deployed a total of five warships, including the Wasp amphibious combat group, the Bulkeley destroyer and the Roosevelt destroyer. The Wasp amphibious combat group includes the Wasp amphibious assault ship, the New York amphibious dock transport ship, the Oak Hill dock landing ship and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Among them, the Wasp amphibious assault ship, equipped with F-35 fighter jets, arrived in the eastern Mediterranean on June 26. According to the Associated Press report on the 3rd, two US Navy destroyers will sail northward along the Red Sea into the eastern Mediterranean. If necessary, at least one of the destroyers can stay in the Mediterranean to perform missions. In addition, the US fleet in the western Mediterranean is also moving eastward.
In the direction of the Gulf of Oman, the US military currently has deployed seven warships, including the USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, the USS Cole, and the USS Laboon. The USS Roosevelt took over the mission of the USS Eisenhower in early July and continued the US Navy's deployment in the Middle East. It is worth mentioning that the USS Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is also equipped with three destroyers with ground attack and air defense capabilities - the USS Daniel Inouye, the USS Michael Murphy, and the USS Russell. The USS Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is about to take over its mission, has six warships, which means that the US Navy's naval power in the direction of the Gulf of Oman will be further strengthened.
As for the army and air force, Al Arabiya reported on the 3rd that there are currently about 30,000 US troops deployed in the Middle East. These US troops are scattered in major US military bases in the Middle East. According to Reuters and Al Jazeera in February, the US military currently has at least 18 air bases and 7 outposts in the Middle East, the largest of which is the Al Uld Air Base in Doha, the capital of Qatar, where more than 8,000 US troops are stationed. Al Uld Air Base is the main air hub of the US Central Command in the Middle East. According to CNN in January, the United States and Qatar have reached a secret agreement to extend the use of the Al Uld Air Base by 10 years.
In addition, the United States also has military bases in Iraq, Jordan, Israel and other places in the Middle East. Al Jazeera reported that there is no official information on the number of US troops stationed in Israel, but it is certain that the United States has at least one secret military base in Israel code-named "512", which contains an advanced radar monitoring system that can detect and track ballistic missile threats.
The Associated Press reported on the 3rd that both the Patriot and THAAD anti-missile systems can launch interceptor missiles from mobile platforms, and the US Department of Defense has not yet determined what specific anti-missile system will be deployed to enhance its defense capabilities in the Middle East. In addition, the information of the fighter squadrons going to reinforce has not been released. The Associated Press reported that because the host country is very sensitive to the presence of US troops and is unwilling to disclose relevant information, the United States will generally not release specific details.
After the outbreak of this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States also provided Israel with "large-scale" weapons assistance. According to CCTV News on June 28, since the outbreak of the current round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, the Biden administration of the United States has delivered a large amount of ammunition to Israel, including at least 14,000 2,000-pound (about 900 kg) MK-84 bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 "Hellfire" air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 small-diameter bombs and other ammunition. Agence France-Presse reported on the 26th, citing a senior US government official, that since the outbreak of the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States has delivered a total of more than $6.5 billion in weapons to Israel, reaching about $3 billion in May this year alone.
The United States launches shuttle diplomacy
The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. officials said that since the weekend, they have found Iran moving missile launchers and conducting military exercises, which may indicate that Iran is preparing for an attack in the coming days. The newspaper believes that the large-scale war that may be ignited may undermine Biden's efforts to promote a ceasefire in Gaza, which has become the core of Biden's Middle East diplomacy and foreign policy legacy.
Multiple foreign media reported that Biden and Vice President Harris listened to a briefing from the U.S. national security team on the situation in the Middle East on August 5 and discussed the U.S. response. Reuters quoted a U.S. official as saying that at the briefing, Biden and Harris' national security team informed them that it was unclear when Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon might launch an attack on Israel, "as well as the specific details of the attack."
Biden spoke with Jordanian King Abdullah II on the same day to discuss easing tensions in the Middle East. Earlier on August 4, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi concluded a rare visit to Iran, the first visit by a senior Jordanian official to Iran in more than 20 years. According to a statement from the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Safadi condemned Israel's actions in Gaza and the region when meeting with the Iranian president and acting foreign minister, urged relevant parties to exercise restraint, and warned that if a regional war breaks out, "it will have a devastating impact on everyone."
On August 5, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called on Iran, Iranian proxies and Israel to ease the situation. The Wall Street Journal believes that this is the last-ditch effort of the United States to prevent a wider conflict. "We are engaged in intensive diplomatic activities non-stop to convey a very simple message: all parties must avoid escalating the situation," Blinken said. "It is also critical to break this cycle by reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza."
At the same time, Blinken also spoke with senior diplomatic officials from Qatar and Egypt that day. Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, said: "One of the focuses of our contacts is to urge countries to send a message to Iran and make it clear to Iran that it is very much not in Iran's own interest to escalate this conflict and launch another attack on Israel."
In addition, according to Axios, a US short news media, Blinken also told the G7 foreign ministers that the United States hopes to prevent the situation from escalating by persuading Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon to limit attacks and stop any Israeli response. He asked other foreign ministers to join this effort to exert diplomatic pressure on the three countries. The media also quoted informed officials as saying that Blinken told the foreign ministers of other G7 member countries that day that Iran might launch a retaliation within 24 to 48 hours, but the US did not know the exact time.
The G7 issued a statement on August 5, saying, "We, the foreign ministers of the G7 of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as the High Representative of the European Union, are deeply concerned about the escalating tensions in the Middle East, which could trigger a wider conflict in the region. We once again urge all parties concerned to show restraint, prevent the destructive cycle of the current retaliatory violence from continuing, to ease tensions, and to engage constructively in efforts to ease the situation. No country or nation will benefit from a further escalation of the situation in the Middle East."
The Paper reporter Nan Boyi and intern Wang Qihan
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