Defense secretary orders guided missile submarine to Middle East

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East after Iran threatened Israel with a retaliatory attack for killing a Hamas leader inside Iran.

Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas political leader, was assassinated in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander was killed in Beirut.

U.S. officials are preparing to respond if any retaliatory attacks are launched.

The USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine, is reportedly making its way to the Middle East.

Austin also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group “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,” according to the Pentagon.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, revealed that Austin assured Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday that the U.S. would “take every possible step to defend Israel and noted the strengthening of U.S. military force posture and capabilities throughout the Middle East in light of escalating regional tensions.”