Defense secretary orders submarine to Middle East

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday evening.

The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, was operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, according to the Navy, having just completed training near Italy.

Austin ordered the submarine into the waters of the Middle East, the Pentagon said. The movement of US missile submarines is rarely revealed publicly, and the nuclear-powered vessels operate in near-complete secrecy.

The announcement of a submarine’s movement is a clear message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies, who the US and Israel believe are preparing for a potential large-scale attack on Israel.

The looming Iranian attack would come in response to Israel last month killing the top military commander for Iran’s most powerful proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon. The next day, Israel is widely believed to have assassinated Hamas’ political leader in Tehran, which Israel has not admitted to carrying out.

The Israel Defense Forces reported Sunday evening that around 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon, though some fell into open areas and no injuries were reported. Hezbollah said overnight that the rockets were in support of “steadfast Palestinian people” in Gaza and in retaliation to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

Austin’s announcement came in a readout of a call between the defense secretary and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. The two spoke about “efforts to deter aggression by Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and other Iran-aligned groups across the region,” the readout said.

Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, the Pentagon said. The defense secretary had ordered the Lincoln strike group to the Middle East on August 2, but its ships carried out port calls in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands along the way, according to the Navy.

The Lincoln strike group consists of the carrier, which operates with stealth F-35C fighter jets, as well as several destroyers.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group has been operating in the waters of the Middle East for several weeks, giving the US a formidable presence in the region. The USS Wasp amphibious ready group, which includes a force of thousands of Marines capable of special operations, is already operating in the Mediterranean Sea.