US poised to move resources to Middle East if needed, says White House

WASHINGTON

The US is prepared to move resources to the Middle East if needed to defend itself and its allies, the White House said on Friday.

"We're always reevaluating our force posture in the Middle East to make sure that we've got what we need to defend ourselves, our troops, our facilities, but also our allies and partners such as Israel," National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby told CNN, without providing "much detail on that.”

His remarks came a day after President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed US military deployments to support Israel against various threats in a phone call, with Biden reaffirming his commitment to Israel's security against all threats from Iran.

"The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments," the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

Turning to the Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's order to strike Israel in retaliation for the killing in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Kirby said: "We’ve heard the supreme leader loud and clear that he intends to avenge this killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, and that they want to conduct another attack on Israel."

"We can't just assume that we aren't also potentially going to be victims of that kind of an attack. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right resources and capabilities in the region," Kirby added.

He told CNN that that support would "most likely" going to be a combination of both personnel and hardware in the region.

Biden said late Thursday that the assassination of Haniyeh has not helped efforts to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Nine months have passed since Israel continues brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas, killing nearly 39,500 Palestinians.

The conflict has sparked increased regional tensions across the Middle East, with the latest escalation earlier this week when Haniyeh was assassinated during his visit to Iran.

While Hezbollah group in Lebanon has engaged in cross-border skirmishes with Israel, Yemen’s Houthi group has been targeting Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Gaza.

Despite international organization, including the UN, and regional countries urge for a cease-fire in Gaza, and de-escalate tension in the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "exact a heavy price" for any attack on Israel.