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US Says Moves in Middle East Are Defensive, Goal Is Deterrence

This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Says Moves in Middle East Are Defensive, Goal Is Deterrence

This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
This picture taken from northern Israel shows smoke billowing during Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon on August 4, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon's Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deploying additional military might in the Middle East as a defensive measure with a goal of de-escalating tensions in the region, a White House official said on Sunday.

Regional tensions have increased following the assassination on Wednesday of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, in the Iranian capital Tehran a day after an Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Both groups are backed by Iran.

There are mounting fears that Israel's war against Palestinian militants in Gaza, which began last October, could escalate into a wider Middle East conflict. Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh's killing, and they, together with Hezbollah, have vowed revenge. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility.

The Pentagon said on Friday it would deploy additional fighter jets and Navy warships to the region.

"The overall goal is to turn the temperature down in the region, deter and defend against those attacks, and avoid regional conflict," Jonathan Finer, White House National Security Council deputy adviser, said on the CBS program "Face the Nation."

The United States and Israel are preparing for every possibility, Finer added.

There was a "very close call" of regional conflagration in April, Finer said, when Iran launched an attack on Israeli territory with drones and missiles after what it called an Israeli strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The United States wants to be prepared should that situation rise again, Finer added.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday expressed hope that Iran would stand down despite its threat to avenge Haniyeh's killing.

The United States on Wednesday urged its citizens who wish to leave Lebanon to start making plans immediately.

"This is no prediction about future events. It is prudent planning for them and for our government," Finer said on CBS.

The British government advised its nationals to leave. Canada told its citizens to avoid all travel to Israel, saying the regional conflict endangers security.

Haniyeh's death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures in the Gaza war - with nearly 40,000 Palestinians killed, according to Gaza's health ministry - and it fueled concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East conflict.

Hamas said it has begun a "broad consultation process" to choose a new leader to replace Haniyeh, who was the face of the group's international diplomacy.

The United States and international partners including France, Britain, Italy and Egypt continued diplomatic contacts seeking to prevent further regional escalation.

Jordan's foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, will travel to Iran on Sunday in a rare visit to discuss regional developments with his Iranian counterpart, Iranian state media reported.

Violence continued on Sunday in the Palestinian territories.

At least 25 Palestinians were killed and several others injured on Sunday in an Israeli strike targeting two schools that were sheltering displaced people near Gaza City on Sunday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

Another strike hit a tent inside a hospital compound in central Gaza, killing at least five people, Gaza health officials said, after another round of talks ended without result.

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Arab World

Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
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Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to kick off parliamentary consultations to form a new government.

He assured that it will “not exclude anyone”, but seek “unity and partnership.”

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that President Joseph Aoun is leading efforts to avert a Shiite boycott of the new government after the “Shiite duo” of the Hezbollah and Amal movement, which is led by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, refrained from naming Salam for the position of PM during Monday’s consultations.

Their abstention has raised fears that the new government will not be constitutional without the representation of the largest Shiite parties in the country.

Reports have said that the duo may boycott the parliamentary consultations to form a government that Salam will hold on Wednesday.

Sources said the duo may skip the first day of talks, which will conclude on Thursday, to demonstrate its “annoyance” with the developments.

Berri, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “situation is not that negative”. He did not elaborate on the duo’s next steps.

Moreover, Asharq Al-Awsat learned that French President Macron had even intervened to avoid a dispute over the government, holding telephone talks with Aoun and Berri.

Salam’s appointment as prime minister came as a major shock given the large number of votes he won from the parliamentary blocs, compared to his predecessor Najib Mikati and against the will of the Shiite duo. In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister.

Aoun stressed the need to “avoid placing obstacles in the government formation process.”

Aoun held a meeting with Salam at the presidential palace on Tuesday before later being joined by Berri, who left the palace without making a statement.

After the talks, Salam spoke before reporters to express his gratitude to parliament and the people for entrusting him with the “difficult task of serving Lebanon” and “achieving the people’s dreams.”

“It is time to open a new chapter that is rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunity, so that Lebanon can be a nation of free people who are equal under their rights,” he added.

On the possible boycott of the Shiite duo, he said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. “This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone,” he added.

The formation of a government in Lebanon often takes months due to political wrangling.

Aoun said on Tuesday that Lebanon has a “very major opportunity that we should all seize.”

He received a delegation from the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council.

“Obstacles must not be placed in the formation process,” he urged. “We must send positive signals to the international community that Lebanon can govern itself, carry out reconstruction transparently and build the state that we are all calling for.”

“If one segment of Lebanon is broken, then the whole country will break,” he stressed, saying Monday’s consultations to appoint Salam were a democratic process and that the public interest remains the top priority.

Aoun, who was elected last week, added that he has declined visits from well-wishers over his election “out of respect for the martyrs” who were killed during Israel’s war on Lebanon, which ended with a ceasefire in November.