Posted on 08/03/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
General Michael Kurilla, commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) who is in charge of American forces in the Middle East, arrived in the region on Saturday as preparations continue for a possible attack against Israel from Iran in retaliation for the eliminations of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, two US officials told Axios.
Kurilla's trip to the region was planned before the recent escalation between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah but he is expected to use the trip to try to mobilize the same international and regional coalition that defended Israel against an attack from Iran on Apr. 13, a US official said.
Three US and Israeli officials said Iran could attack Israel as early as Monday.
According to a US official who spoke to Axios, Kurilla is expected to visit several Gulf countries, Jordan and Israel.
Jordan will be a key stop on his trip, according to the report. The Jordanians played a significant role during the Apr. 13 attack by intercepting Iranian drones that entered their territory headed for Israel and by allowing U.S. and Israeli jets to use their air space to intercept Iranian drones. The US hopes the same will happen again if needed, the official said.
The Pentagon and CENTCOM didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Friday, the Pentagon announced it would move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region as part of steps it is taking “to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran's partners and proxies”.
US officials told CNN on Thursday that the US is expecting that an Iranian attack in retaliation for the elimination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh may be similar to the barrage of ballistic missiles and drones launched against Israel on April 13.
The officials said that this time the attack could be larger and more complicated than before, including the possibility of a coordinated attack with Iranian proxies from multiple directions.