UPDATE - Situation in Middle East ‘very serious’: Pentagon

ADDS REMARKS BY PENTAGON SPOKESMAN; BACKGROUND

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The situation in the Middle East is "very serious” but the US is "prepared" for any potential Iranian attack, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

"The situation right now in the Middle East is very serious, which is why we're taking it so seriously, which is why Secretary (of Defense Lloyd) Austin has ordered additional capabilities into the region," spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

Asked if an Iranian attack is possible this week, Ryder said: "That's certainly possible."

"The bottom line is, you know, I'm not going to speculate or try to guess when they might attack, other than to say, we need to take it seriously, and we are doing that. And so, we will be prepared and are prepared," he added.

Ryder reiterated that the US wants to de-escalate the situation, protect its forces and support the defense of Israel.

"We're trying to do here, which is deter a wider regional conflict, prevent a regional war in a very tense Middle East, with Iran threatening to retaliate and to use potentially overwhelming force, and we again have been very clear in our commitment to aid in the defense of Israel.

"No one wants to see escalation. No one wants to see a wider regional conflict. So, you know, hopefully, you don't find ourselves in a situation of having to employ those capabilities. But if we need to in the defense of Israel, we will," he added.

Ryder said that "there is always time for diplomacy to work” and “there is hope" for de-escalation.

The Pentagon announced earlier this month that the US will deploy additional military assets to the Middle East ahead of a possible retaliation by Iran against Israel.

Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Central Command area of responsibility, adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.

Additionally, he ordered the USS Georgia (SSGN 729) guided missile submarine to the Central Command region.

Ryder said the USS Georgia, an Ohio-class guided missile submarine, is not yet in the US Central Command region.

"I'm not going to get into the specifics of its location and timelines. Again, it is been ordered to the Central Command Area of responsibility," he said when asked why it is not yet in the region.

Tensions are running high in the Middle East following the July 31 assassination of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran and Israel's assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on July 30.

Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination, while Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied responsibility.

Iran vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel for Haniyeh’s killing on Iranian soil.

The escalation comes amid an ongoing Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians following an attack on Oct. 7 last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, that killed 1,139 Israelis.