U.S. air defense systems and a U.S. Navy destroyer assisted Israel in intercepting ballistic missiles launched by Iran on Friday in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and senior military officials, according to U.S. officials.
The United States has deployed both Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems in the Middle East, both of which are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. Iran fired multiple salvos in response to Israel’s initial attack.
A Navy destroyer positioned in the eastern Mediterranean also intercepted missiles bound for Israel, one official confirmed to The Associated Press.
In response to the escalating conflict, the U.S. is repositioning military assets in the region, including naval vessels.
The Navy has ordered the USS Thomas Hudner, a destroyer equipped with ballistic missile defense capabilities, to move from the western Mediterranean to the eastern Mediterranean, U.S. officials said. A second destroyer has also been directed to reposition forward, making it available for deployment if requested by the White House, the AP noted.
“American fighter jets also are patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said,” AP reported.
President Donald Trump convened a meeting with his National Security Council principals on Friday to review potential response options, reports noted.
U.S. forces in the region have been taking precautionary steps for several days, including the voluntary departure of military dependents from regional bases, in preparation for possible Iranian retaliation and to safeguard personnel.
Typically, around 30,000 U.S. troops are stationed in the Middle East. That number has risen to approximately 40,000, according to a U.S. official, and peaked at 43,000 last October amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran and ongoing attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
The Navy has additional forces it could deploy to the Middle East if necessary, particularly its aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships. Currently, the USS Carl Vinson is operating in the Arabian Sea and is the only carrier positioned in the region.
According to a U.S. official, the USS Nimitz, currently in the Indo-Pacific, could be redirected to the Middle East if required. Additionally, the USS George Washington, which recently departed its home port in Japan, could also be deployed to the region if ordered, the AP said.
Trump is turning up the pressure on Iran and making it clear that the next round of Israeli strikes will be even more devastating if the regime refuses to back down and strike a nuclear deal with the U.S.
In a no-nonsense post on Truth Social, Trump warned Iran that “the time to make a deal is now, or face the full weight of what’s coming,” Fox News reported.
“There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,” Trump wrote.
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire. No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
He also reminded the Iranians — and the world — that the United States makes the most advanced and lethal military equipment on the planet.
“I warned them,” Trump wrote. “The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the world, BY FAR, and Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come, and they know how to use it.”
Trump also called out the Iranian hardliners who talked tough before the strikes began.
“Certain Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse,” Trump wrote.