WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered additional ships to head to the Middle East amid fears of an Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel Friday, with the US embassy in Jerusalem issuing a security alert for US citizens.
"Secretary Austin has ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the US European Command and US Central Command regions," read a statement from Defense Department deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh. "The Department is also taking steps to increase our readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense."
Additionally, Austin has ordered the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to replace the Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which was previously deployed. The United States will also deploy additional fighter jets to the region to boost its air support capability. Austin ordered the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to the Middle East as well, under the pretense of "reinforcing" the country's "defensive air support capability."
The news came as the US embassy in Jerusalem released an alert urging US citizens to be cautious of possible sudden aerial attacks due to "increased regional tensions" in the wake of Israel's violation of Iranian and Lebanese territorial sovereignty.
"Due to the increase in regional tensions, the US Embassy in Jerusalem is continuously and closely monitoring the security situation," the Embassy said in the advisory Friday. "The US Embassy reminds US citizens of the continued need for caution and increased personal security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) intrusions, often take place without any warning."
The advisory added that the security environment is complex and can change quickly.
The United States assesses that Iran and its so-called "proxies," including the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, will carry out a large-scale aerial attack against Israel in the coming days due to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this week.
The Israeli military also struck a residential complex in Lebanon, killing Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, and recently launched an attack on a civilian target in Yemen.
Speculation has emerged Iran could carry out its retaliatory attack in the coming hours as Hezbollah has launched strikes on military targets in northern Israel, where tens of thousands of Israelis remain displaced.