Frankly Speaking: Should Israel pay for rebuilding Gaza?

Prince Turki - Saudi-Lebanon ties
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Prince Turki - Who pays to rebuild Gaza?
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Updated 02 March 2025
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Frankly Speaking: Should Israel pay for rebuilding Gaza?

Frankly Speaking: Should Israel pay for rebuilding Gaza?
  • Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal believes Israel bears financial responsibility for the damage in Gaza and West Bank
  • Says hosting of US-Russia talks in Riyadh to end Ukraine war has reinforced Saudi Arabia’s role as a key global diplomatic actor

RIYADH: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief and ambassador to the US and UK, has long been vocal about the plight of the Palestinian people and the destruction caused by Israel’s military campaigns.

Now, in the wake of the latest war in Gaza, he has called for a fundamental shift in how reconstruction efforts are financed — by forcing Israel to contribute to rebuilding the very infrastructure it has repeatedly destroyed.

Appearing on the Arab News current affairs program “Frankly Speaking,” Prince Turki laid out his case for why Israel should bear financial responsibility for the damage it has inflicted on Gaza and the West Bank — rather than the Gulf states footing the bill.

“I have been saying this for some time now, that there should be a fund, a worldwide fund for the reconstruction, not just in Gaza, but also in the West Bank. And Israel should be forced to chip in to that fund,” he told “Frankly Speaking” host Katie Jensen.

“We can’t have Israel, every time we reconstruct Gaza or the West Bank, coming and demolishing what has been reconstructed. That is unacceptable.

“And I think from now on, it is an issue of finality rather than temporary or procedural actions that are taken to build and then wait for the next round of destruction that comes from Israel. There has to be a finality for this situation by an end to the conflict.”




Prince Turki Al-Faisal spoke on the crisis in Gaza, Ukraine, Lebanon and other hotspots on ‘Frankly Speaking.’ (AN Photo)

Israel mounted its military operation in Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which saw some 1,200 people killed, most of them civilians, and around 250 taken hostage, many of them foreign nationals.

At least 50,000 Palestinians were killed in the ensuing conflict and some 1.9 million displaced from their homes before a ceasefire deal was finally agreed on Jan. 19. Much of the enclave now lies in ruins and humanitarian needs are immense.

Prince Turki said a permanent ceasefire was the only way to guarantee that reconstruction efforts were not repeatedly undone by future Israeli military operations.

“The next phase of the ceasefire, as we have seen, will see a permanent ceasefire come into effect not just in Gaza but all of Palestine,” he said.

“That is the only way that we can guarantee that whatever is reconstructed can remain as a viable Palestinian state that can become independent and self-governing with all of the rights of its people.”

While much of the world’s focus has been on Gaza, Prince Turki warned that Israeli policies in the West Bank, where refugee camps have been raided by troops and settler violence has increased, should not be overlooked.

“The struggle for Palestine has not ended with the ceasefire in Gaza,” he said. “We see the Benjamin Netanyahu government doing similar things to what they did in Gaza in the West Bank, although at a slower pace than they did in Gaza.”

“They’re uprooting people in the West Bank, emptying some of the refugee camps there, and forcibly driving residents of the camps out with no destination. That is unacceptable as well. That is a form of ethnic cleansing. And yet Israel gets away with it, and nobody — especially not the US — condemns it.”

US President Donald Trump recently caused an international stir by sharing an AI-generated video on his Truth Social account depicting Gaza as a luxury holiday resort. In the surreal video, Palestinian children are seen emerging from rubble into a glitzy cityscape with cash raining from the sky. Elsewhere, Trump is seen sipping drinks with Netanyahu on a beachfront.




Palestinians inspect the damage outside Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital after the Israeli military withdrew from the complex housing the hospital amid battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP/File Photo)

The video was a reference to comments Trump made in recent weeks about the possibility of removing the Palestinian people en masse to Egypt and Jordan and rebuilding Gaza as a “Riviera of the Middle East.”

When asked what Trump was hoping to achieve by sharing the video, Prince Turki said: “I don’t know. No shock can be enough of a reaction to what he’s up to. Some people have said that he does that in order to instigate or to inspire reaction in one form or another.

“Well, he doesn’t need to do that, because definitely the brutality of the Israeli treatment of the Palestinians does inspire reactions not just from the Arab world but from the world community.”

Despite the controversy, Prince Turki noted that the international community’s response to the war in Gaza had been unprecedented. “I must say that throughout this brutal attack on the Palestinians by the Netanyahu government, the world reaction has been quite good,” he said.

“You saw the demonstrations that took place and are still taking place in various places around the world in opposition to this brutality and in support of the freedom and independence of a Palestinian state. That is a very healthy sign.”

With the Arab League holding an extraordinary summit on March 4 in Cairo to discuss alternative proposals for Gaza’s postwar future, among other pressing issues facing the region, Prince Turki was cautious about predicting the outcome of the talks.

“I really have no idea whatsoever,” he said. “Of course, I was not party to the talks and I have not seen any public statement about them. What I read in speculation, you know, in media outlets, whether in Israel or America or the Arab world, I would wait until the meeting takes place and we see what is said by the officials themselves.”




Lebanese Army vehicles patrol the area of Marjayoun in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel on October 25, 2024. Israel expanded operations in Lebanon nearly a year after Hezbollah began exchanging fire in support of its ally, Hamas, following the Palestinian group's deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. (AFP/File Photo)

Asked whether Hamas could have a role to play in governing postwar Gaza, perhaps as part of the Palestinian Authority, and whether the West would tolerate such an arrangement, Prince Turki said there were those within the Palestinian militant group who rightly prioritize the needs of the Gazan people who could well be included.

“When you say Hamas, there are individuals who are definitely neutral, if you like, and more in terms of not bound by party or by commitment to either Hamas or Fatah or any of the other Palestinian groupings there,” he said.

“Those are the people, I think, who should be in charge of Gaza and meeting the needs of the people of Gaza.”

Turning to Lebanon, Prince Turki expressed optimism about the country’s new government, headed by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. Aoun arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday on his first official trip abroad since being elected president on January 9.

The new government was created after more than two years of political paralysis, which had prevented Lebanon’s recovery from its devastating financial crisis that began in 2019 and the 15-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began in October 2023.

“The Kingdom has wholeheartedly supported the actions of the Lebanese parliament in electing the president,” Prince Turki said. “And now the president has designated a prime minister and I think they have announced a (cabinet) that hopefully will take its place as the ruling government of Lebanon.”

He added: “I think the Lebanese people are tired of having to be the sacrificial lamb, if you like, for either sectarian or other political factions, whether they be Hezbollah or some other Lebanese parties in the course of the development in the future.

“So, it is the Lebanese people, I think, who will be the safeguards of this new direction. And I hope that the support that is coming to Lebanon, not just from Saudi Arabia, but from the world community, will help that government to become more effective in meeting the needs of the Lebanese people.”

Although the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia remains a substantial force in Lebanon, its mauling by Israel has left it severely diminished, allowing the Lebanese state to reassert itself. Prince Turki said Saudi investors are now eager to return to Lebanon.




Speaking to host Katie Jensen, Prince Turki laid out his case for why Israel should bear financial responsibility for the damage it has inflicted on Gaza and the West Bank. (AN Photo)

“I hear from Saudis here that they’re willing and anxious to be able, if you like, to go back to Lebanon,” he said. “Those who have not invested yet, I think, are also thinking of the opportunities there.

“The Lebanese people are a very talented people, and Lebanon has always been a commercial hub for the Arab world. I remember my late father, King Faisal, used to say in those days, of course, that Lebanon is the lungs of the Arab world. I hope it returns to that.”

The Kingdom recently hosted high-level talks between the US and Russia to discuss a potential peace deal in Ukraine and other topics. In doing so, they reinforced Saudi Arabia’s position as a key player in global diplomacy.

“They seem to have set a course forward on a mutual return of diplomatic representation and also mutual cooperation, not only politically but also in terms of commercial and other enterprises that can bring benefit to their two peoples,” Prince Turki said of Moscow and Washington.

“It’s good to see that the potential for nuclear war between America and Russia has decreased incredibly. Is a reassuring sign that we do not face a nuclear holocaust, for which there might have been a reason had this meeting not taken place.”

Prince Turki, who is a co-founder and trustee of the Saudi-headquartered King Faisal Foundation, an international philanthropic organization, emphasized that the Kingdom’s diplomatic efforts extended beyond Ukraine.

Alluding to Riyadh’s facilitation of peace parleys between Eritrea and Ethiopia; Djibouti and Ethiopia; and between the Houthi militia and the UN-recognized government of Yemen, he said: “Saudis are proud that they are the place where people are coming to find solutions.”

 


How Israeli strikes have pushed Iran’s leadership into a corner

How Israeli strikes have pushed Iran’s leadership into a corner
Updated 26 sec ago
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How Israeli strikes have pushed Iran’s leadership into a corner

How Israeli strikes have pushed Iran’s leadership into a corner
  • Severely degraded missile capabilities and military network mean Tehran is unable to respond with effective strikes
  • Regional experts believe leadership is backed into a corner with limited options, each more perilous than the other

DUBAI: Israel has gutted Iran’s nuclear and military leadership with airstrikes that leave a weakened Tehran with few options to retaliate, including an all-out war that it is neither equipped for nor likely to win, according to four regional officials.

The overnight strikes by Israel – repeated for second night on Friday – have ratcheted up the confrontation between the arch foes to an unprecedented level after years of war in the shadows, which burst into the open when Iran’s ally Hamas attacked Israel in 2023.

Regional security sources said it was unlikely that Tehran could respond with similarly effective strikes because its missile capabilities and military network in the region have been severely degraded by Israel since the Hamas attacks that triggered the Gaza war.

State news agency IRNA said that Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel on Friday in retaliation. But the Israeli military said the missiles numbered fewer than 100 and most were intercepted or fell short. No casualties were immediately reported.

Rescue personnel work at an impact site following missile attack from Iran in Ramat Gan, Israel on June 14, 2025. (Reuters)

The regional security sources said Iran’s leaders, humiliated and increasingly preoccupied with their own survival, cannot afford to appear weak in the face of Israeli military pressure, raising the prospect of further escalation – including covert attacks on Israel or even the perilous option of seeking to build a nuclear bomb rapidly.

“They can’t survive if they surrender,” said Mohanad Hage Ali at the Carnegie Middle East Center, a think tank in Beirut. “They need to strike hard against Israel but their options are limited. I think their next option is withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

Withdrawing from the NPT would be a serious escalation as it would signal Iran is accelerating its enrichment program to produce weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb, experts said.

Iran’s leadership has not confirmed whether it would attend a sixth round of deadlocked talks with the US over its nuclear program scheduled for Sunday in Oman.

Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies – from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq – as well as by the ousting of Iran’s close ally, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.

Western sanctions have also hit Iran’s crucial oil exports and the economy is reeling from a string of crises including a collapsing currency and rampant inflation, as well as energy and water shortages.

People gather for a protest against Israel’s wave of strikes on Iran in central Tehran on June 13, 2025. (AFP)

“They can’t retaliate through anyone. The Israelis are dismantling the Iranian empire piece by piece, bit by bit … and now they’ve started sowing internal doubt about (the invincibility of) the regime,” said Sarkis Naoum, a regional expert. “This is massive hit.”

Israel strikes targeting key facilities in Tehran and other cities continued into the night on Friday. The Iranian foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was defiant on Friday, saying Israel had initiated a war and would suffer “a bitter fate.”

Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, director of the Gulf Research Center think tank, said Iran has been backed into a corner with limited options. One possibility would be to offer assurances – in private – that it will abandon uranium enrichment and dismantle its nuclear capabilities, since any public declaration of such a capitulation would likely provoke a fierce domestic backlash.

He said another option could involve a return to clandestine warfare, reminiscent of the 1980s bombings targeting US and Israeli embassies and military installations.

A third, and far more perilous option, would be to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and accelerate its uranium enrichment program.

Such a move, Sager warned, would be tantamount to a declaration of war and would almost certainly provoke a strong international response – not only from Israel, but also from the US and other Western powers.

Trump has threatened military action to ensure Iran does not obtain an atomic weapon. He reiterated his position on Thursday, saying: “Iran must completely give up hopes of obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

Iran is currently enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent it would need for nuclear weapons. It has enough material at that level, if processed further, for nine nuclear bombs, according to a UN nuclear watchdog yardstick.

Israel’s strikes overnight on Thursday targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, military commanders and nuclear scientists. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

At least 20 senior commanders were killed, two regional sources said. The armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards Chief Hossein Salami, and the head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were among them.

“It’s a big attack: big names, big leaders, big damage to the Iranian military leadership and its ballistic missiles. It’s unprecedented,” said Carnegie's Hage Ali.

Sima Shine, a former chief Mossad analyst and now a researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), said Israel would probably not be able to take out Iran’s nuclear project completely without US help.

“Therefore, if the US will not be part of the war, I assume that some parts of (Iran’s) nuclear project will remain,” she said on Friday.

Friday’s strikes have not only inflicted strategic damage but have also shaken Iran’s leadership to the core, according to a senior regional official close to the Iranian establishment.

Defiance has transformed into concern and uncertainty within the ruling elite and, behind closed doors, anxiety is mounting, not just over the external threats but also their eroding grip on power at home, the official said.

“Panic has surged among the leadership,” the senior regional official said. “Beyond the threat of further attacks, a deeper fear looms large: domestic unrest.”

A moderate former Iranian official said the killing in 2020 of General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the overseas arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, on the orders of President Donald Trump, started the rot.

Since then, the Islamic Republic has struggled to reassert its influence across the region and has never fully recovered. “This attack might be the beginning of the end,” he said.

If protests erupt, and the leadership responds with repression, it will only backfire, the former official said, noting that public anger has been simmering for years, fueled by sanctions, inflation and an unrelenting crackdown on dissent.

In his video address shortly after the attacks started, Netanyahu suggested he would like to see regime change in Iran and sent a message to Iranians.

“Our fight is not with you. Our fight is with the brutal dictatorship that has oppressed you for 46 years. I believe the day of your liberation is near,” he said.

The hope for regime change could explain why Israel went after so many senior military figures, throwing the Iranian security establishment into a state of confusion and chaos.

“These people were very vital, very knowledgeable, many years in their jobs, and they were a very important component of the stability of the regime, specifically the security stability of the regime,” said Shine.

Iranian state media reported that at least two nuclear scientists, Fereydoun Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, were killed in Israeli strikes in Tehran.

Iran’s most powerful proxy in the region, Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, is also in a weak position to respond.

In the days leading up to the strikes on Iran, security sources close to Hezbollah told Reuters the group would not join any retaliatory action by Iran out of fear such a response could unleash a new Israeli blitz on Lebanon.

Israel’s war last year against Hezbollah left the group badly weakened, with its leadership decimated, thousands of its fighters killed, and swathes of its strongholds in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s suburbs destroyed.

Analysts said Trump could leverage the fallout from the Israeli strikes to bring Iran back to the nuclear negotiating table – but this time more isolated, and more likely to offer deeper concessions.

“One thing is clear: the Iranian empire is in decline,” said regional expert Naoum. “Can they still set the terms of their decline? Not through military terms. There’s only one way to do that: through negotiations.”


Iran says nuclear talks with US ‘meaningless’ after Israel attack

Iran says nuclear talks with US ‘meaningless’ after Israel attack
Updated 14 June 2025
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Iran says nuclear talks with US ‘meaningless’ after Israel attack

Iran says nuclear talks with US ‘meaningless’ after Israel attack
  • "You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” says Iran's foreign ministry spokesman

CAIRO: Iran said on Friday the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.

“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission.

Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.

The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.

Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.


UN chief urges ‘maximum restraint’ after Israel strikes Iran

UN chief urges ‘maximum restraint’ after Israel strikes Iran
Updated 25 min 25 sec ago
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UN chief urges ‘maximum restraint’ after Israel strikes Iran

UN chief urges ‘maximum restraint’ after Israel strikes Iran
  • Peace and diplomacy must prevail,” Antonio Guterres said on X after Israel’s “preemptive” strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counter-attack

UNITED NATIONS, United States: UN chief Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Iran to “show maximum restraint” after Israel’s wave of air strikes, the secretary-general’s spokesman said in a statement late Thursday.

While broadly condemning “any military escalation in the Middle East,” the statement by Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq noted Guterres was “particularly concerned” by Israel’s strikes on nuclear installations amid the ongoing US-Iran negotiations.

“The Secretary-General asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford,” it added.


At UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israeli strikes

At UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israeli strikes
Updated 14 June 2025
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At UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israeli strikes

At UN, Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israeli strikes
  • Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked

UNITED NATIONS: Iran accused the United States of being complicit in Israel's attacks on the Islamic Republic, which Washington denied, telling Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would "be wise" to negotiate over its nuclear programme. Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel late on Friday after Israel attacked Iran earlier in the day.

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Iran had been "preparing for war" and Israel's strikes were "an act of national preservation." His Iranian counterpart, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Israel of seeking "to kill diplomacy, to sabotage negotiations, and to drag the region into wider conflict," and he said Washington's complicity was "beyond doubt". "Those who support this regime, with the United States at the forefront, must understand that they are complicit," Iravani told the Security Council. "By aiding and enabling these crimes, they share full responsibility for the consequences."

HIGHLIGHTS

• UN Security Council met over Israel's strikes on Iran

• US says Iran would 'be wise' to negotiate on nuclear program

• Iran accuses US of being complicit in Israel's strikes

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he had given Tehran a 60-day ultimatum, which expired on Thursday, to make a deal over its escalating uranium enrichment program. A sixth round of U.S.-Iran talks had been scheduled to take place in Oman on Sunday, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead. Danon said Israel had been patient despite mounting risks.

"We waited for diplomacy to work ... We watched negotiations stretch on, as Iran made false concessions or refused the most fundamental conditions," Danon told the Security Council. He said intelligence had confirmed Iran could have produced enough fissile material for multiple bombs within days.

Senior U.S. official McCoy Pitt said the United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution that ensures Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon or pose a threat to stability in the Middle East. "Iran's leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time," Pitt told the council. While Washington was informed of Israel's initial strikes ahead of time it was not militarily involved, he said. U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed, and that Iran has reported that nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan were also attacked.

 


US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles

US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles
Updated 14 June 2025
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US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles

US helps Israel shoot down barrage of Iranian missiles
  • US also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes
  • About 40,000 troops are in the Mideast region now, according to a US official

WASHINGTON: American air defense systems and Navy assets in the Middle East helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles Friday that Tehran launched in response to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and top military leaders, US officials said.
The US has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the region capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, which Iran fired in multiple barrages in retaliation for Israel’s initial attack.
Naval assets also were involved in assisting Israel as Iran fired missiles at Tel Aviv, one official said. It was not immediately clear if ships fired interceptors or if their advanced missile tracking systems helped Israel identify incoming targets.
The United States also is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to the strikes.
The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, to begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward so it can be available if requested by the White House, US officials said.
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.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public or to discuss ongoing operations.
President Donald Trump met with his National Security Council principals Friday to discuss options.
The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran.
Typically around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, according to a US official. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
The Navy has additional assets that it could surge to the Middle East if needed, particularly its aircraft carriers and the warships that sail with them. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Arabian Sea — the only aircraft carrier in the region.
The carrier USS Nimitz is in the Indo-Pacific and could be directed toward the Middle East if needed, and the USS George Washington just left its port in Japan and could also be directed to the region if so ordered, one of the officials said.
Then-President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas that launched the war in Gaza. It was seen as a deterrent against Hezbollah and Iran at the time.
On Oct. 1, 2024, US Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.