Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on July 31, and Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel. White House officials on Sunday (August 4) stated that the United States is preparing for all potential retaliation from Iran.
White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer made the above remarks during an interview with ABC News program “This Week” on Sunday.
“I will not list out what we expect Iran to do, because I believe we do not want to reveal our hand in this way,” he said. “But I will tell you, we are preparing for every possibility, just like we did before the April 13th Iranian attack on Israel, where the U.S. and our partner allies worked with Israel to defeat that attack.”
On the evening of April 13th, Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel. It was the first time Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory. However, this attack resulted in only minor damage as most of the missiles and drones were shot down with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Jordan.
Following the assassination of Hamas political leader Haniyeh on July 31, both Iran and Hamas accused Israel of being responsible for the incident and vowed to retaliate.
On August 2, the Pentagon announced that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had ordered adjustments to military deployments in the Middle East and dispatched a carrier strike group, a squadron of fighter jets, and more warships to the region to counter Iran’s retaliatory actions.
During the Sunday interview, Finer stated, “Currently, the Pentagon is mobilizing significant assets to that region to be prepared should there again be a need to protect Israel from attacks. Meanwhile, we are working very hard to de-escalate the situation through diplomatic means because we believe that a regional war is not in anyone’s interest at this time. This is what we have been trying to avoid since October 7, 2023.”
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, leading to the costly Israel-Hamas war.
In his ABC program interview, Finer emphasized that he would not discuss the details of ongoing diplomatic activities. He stated, “I just want to say that, in close coordination and cooperation with our Israeli allies and other partners in the region, we are doing everything possible to ensure that this situation does not spiral out of control, providing significant assets, U.S. assets, and assistance from other countries to protect Israel when necessary.”
According to the U.S. news website Axios, two American officials revealed that U.S. Central Command Commander for the Middle East, Michael Kurilla, arrived in the Middle East on Saturday, August 3.
One U.S. official mentioned that while Kurilla’s visit was scheduled before the recent escalation, it is expected that he will use this trip to rally international and regional alliances that worked with the U.S. to protect Israel from the Iranian attack on April 13.
Three U.S. and Israeli officials indicated that Iran is expected to launch an attack on Israel as early as Monday, August 5.
U.S. officials anticipate that any retaliatory action by Iran will resemble the April 13 attack on Israel but may have a larger scope, with the potential involvement of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
An American official told Axios that Kurilla is expected to visit several Gulf countries, Jordan, and Israel. Jordan will be a key stop on Kurilla’s trip. Jordan played a crucial role in the April 13 Iranian attack by intercepting Iranian drones flying towards Israel, allowing U.S. and Israeli aircraft to use its airspace to intercept Iranian drones. The official stated that the U.S. hopes Jordan will provide similar assistance again if necessary.