- Witkoff and Kushner also said expected in Israel; senior Iranian official says ‘everything is on high alert’ as Islamic Republic readies for potential US attack, threatens response
Commander of the United States Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper is expected to arrive in Israel on Saturday for meetings with senior officials, the Kan public broadcaster reported Friday, as US President Donald Trump indicates he is maintaining the possibility of strikes on Iran amid its crackdown on protests.
Earlier Friday, Channel 12 news reported that White House adviser Jared Kushner and US special envoy Steve Witkoff are also set to land in Israel on Saturday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They are expected to discuss Hamas and Gaza, with an emphasis on efforts to secure the return of Ran Gvili, the last remaining hostage still held in Gaza, as well as possible discussions regarding Iran.
Trump has threatened military action if Iran carried out mass executions of prisoners or killed peaceful demonstrators, but he recently backed away, claiming Iran halted the hangings of 800 detained protesters. He has not elaborated on the source of the claim, which Iran’s top prosecutor called “completely false.”
However, Trump appears to be keeping his options open, saying Thursday aboard Air Force One that his threatened military action would make last year’s US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites “look like peanuts” if the government proceeded with planned executions of some protesters.
He added that the United States had an “armada” heading toward Iran, including an aircraft carrier group and its thousands of troops, but hoped he would not have to use it.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three accompanying destroyers left the South China Sea and began heading west earlier this week, a US Navy official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military movements, said Friday that the Lincoln strike group was in the Indian Ocean.
An official source quoted by Fox News said the strike group had yet to enter CENTCOM’s sphere of command and is not expected to be within striking distance of Iran for several more days or even a week.
When they arrive in the region, those warships would join three littoral combat ships, which were in port in Bahrain on Friday, as well as two other US Navy destroyers, which were at sea in the Persian Gulf.
The arrival of the carrier strike group would bring roughly 5,700 additional service members. The US has several bases in the Middle East, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for US Central Command.
Central Command said on social media that the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle now has a presence in the Mideast, noting the fighter jet “enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability.”
Similarly, the UK Ministry of Defense said Thursday that it deployed its Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar “in a defensive capacity.”
Analysts of flight-tracking data have noticed dozens of US military cargo planes also heading to the region.
White House in Washington, DC, on July 15, 2019.
The activity is similar to last year when the US moved in air defense hardware, like a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the bombing of three key nuclear sites in June during the Israel-Iran war. Iran launched over a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base days after the strikes.
‘Everything on high alert in Iran’
Ahead of the arrival of the aircraft carrier strike group and US other military assets to the Middle East in the coming days, a senior Iranian official said Friday that Iran will treat any attack “as an all-out war against us.”
“This military buildup — we hope it is not intended for real confrontation — but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran,” said the senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“This time we will treat any attack — limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it — as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this,” the official said.
“If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” added the Iranian official. He declined to specify what an Iranian response might look like.
“A country under constant military threat from the United States has no option but to ensure that everything at its disposal can be used to push back and, if possible, restore balance against anyone who dares to attack Iran,” the official said.
Also Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed there were signs that Israel was still seeking an opportunity to attack Iran, warning such a move could further destabilize the region.
“I hope they find a different path, but the reality is that Israel, in particular, is looking for an opportunity to strike Iran,” Fidan said in a televised interview.
BY: The Times Union – TOI
