Tel Aviv [Israel], August 3 : The United States is increasing its military presence in the Middle East by deploying a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron, and additional warships to the region as tensions rise following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader, in Tehran earlier this week, CNN reported.
According to a statement from deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh, defence Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group, which is currently operating in the Gulf of Oman.
Destroyers and cruisers capable of ballistic missile defence will also be sent to the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea, as per CNN.
The statement does not say which warships have been sent, but two US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea took part in intercepting the barrage of strikes Iran launched against Israel in April.
Further Singh stated, "Austin also ordered the deployment of a fighter squadron to the region."
The US already has the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship in the region, which operates with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, capable of carrying out an evacuation of US citizens in Lebanon should it be ordered.
Iran has vowed to attack Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not commented on the killing.
On August 2, hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Qatar for the funeral of a Hamas leader.
The mourners lined up to offer funeral prayers inside Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, the Gulf emirate's largest, while, others prayed on mats outside in temperatures that reached 44 degrees Celsius.
He will be buried in a cemetery in the city of Lusail, north of Doha.
Mourners included Khaled Meshaal, who is tipped as a possible successor to be the new Hamas leader, reported The Times of Israel.
Iran and Hamas have accused Israel of the assassination. Israel, which is at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, has neither acknowledged nor denied killing Haniyeh.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led a public funeral ceremony for Haniyeh in Tehran on Thursday, before the coffin was transported to Doha, and threatened "harsh punishment" for Haniyeh's killing.
Earlier on Wednesday, he also ordered Iran to strike Israel directly, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the New York Times reported.
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