US force posture moves in Middle East aimed at de-escalating tensions: White House

WASHINGTON

US force posture moves in the Middle East are aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region, a White House official said Sunday.

"So you're referring to the announcement that was made on Friday, where the United States and the Pentagon said that we are moving a carrier, aircraft carrier group to the region and some additional air assets. That is entirely focused on defending Israel against potential threats it may face and out of our desire to both deter those threats, defend against them, and ultimately de-escalate this situation and avoid it sliding into a regional war,” Jonathan Finer, the deputy national security adviser, said on CBS's Face the Nation program.

"But the overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks and avoid a regional conflict, which has been our goal really since October 7," he added.

His remarks came after the Pentagon announced Friday that the US will deploy additional military assets to the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region.

"The Department of Defense continues to take steps to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran's partners and proxies," it said.

Regional tensions have increased following Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination last Wednesday in the Iranian capital Tehran, a day after an Israeli strike in a Beirut suburb killed a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

"What we're trying to do is prepare for any eventuality, any possibility. That's only responsible for the United States," Finer said when asked whether the Biden administration is anticipating that Israel will strike inside Lebanon "sooner"

Stressing that the US raised its travel advisory to Level 4, which discourages Americans from traveling to Lebanon, he said: "We are preparing for whatever may come. But this is no prediction about future events. It is prudent planning for them and for our government."

Turning to the situation in the Gaza Strip, Finer said that US President Joe Biden recently told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "this deal needs to get done."

On May 31, Biden said that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and the reconstruction of Gaza.

"We need to bring the hostages home. We need to establish a cease-fire that ultimately leads to an end to the war and that helps us avoid the possibility of a regional conflict about which we've been so concerned," Finer said.

'Trying to avoid conflict in Gaza from spiraling'

The US was not involved in any of the various military and other activities that took place over the course of the last week, he said.

"We played no role in them. But we are going to play a role in trying to de-escalate this situation in exactly the ways I described, starting with deterrence and the defense of Israel should it come under attack again.

"In an overall context in which we are trying to avoid a war, avoid the conflict in Gaza from spiraling and spreading into other places. That's been a strategic objective of ours. We're gonna stay on top of it. And the risk is high, as you've said," Finer added.

Stressing that the US's goal is de-escalation, he said: "Our goal is deterrence. Our goal is defensive of Israel. What I will say as part of why we think this hostage deal needs to get done so quickly is that in this context, when there is so much going on in the region, and the risk level, and the threat level is so high, there are always these external events that can make the negotiations themselves much more difficult."

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.