MORE US forces are moving into the Middle East as Israel awaits retaliation from Iran.
After sending additional cruisers, destroyers and a squadron of fighters to the region, the US continues to increase its show of force in the Middle East with an impressive new weapon.
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On July 25, the U.S. Air Force unveiled its latest defensive measure at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Known as the Load Adaptive Modular Post, the pioneering weapons pylon recently underwent flight testing attached to a B-1B test aircraft from the 419th Flight Test Squadron.
The LAM pylon is designed to carry a variety of existing and emerging weapons with a seamless transition, as stated in a Press release.
The LAM pillar is also designed to enable maximum agility “while also strengthening weapons infrastructure.”
Although a B-1B Lancer was used due to its availability, the LAM is also adaptable, allowing it to be used on a variety of aircraft as needed.
The new pillar will likely increase the flexibility and effectiveness of military operations.
It also means a “significant advance in weapons system testing.”
The deployment of the LAM pillar comes at a critical time, when the US joins other countries in a show of force as tensions rise in the Middle East.
The US is beefing up air defenses around Israel after Iran promised to “severely punish” the country for several high-profile assassinations committed in recent weeks.
“We have adjusted our military posture to strengthen the protection of our force,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a press conference in Maryland.
This will “reinforce our firm commitment to Israel’s offense” and allow the US to “remain prepared to respond to any contingency,” Austin added.
The news comes after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Tehran.
Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was also killed in a separate assassination in Beirut.
The two assassinations prompted both Iran and Hezbollah to threaten Israel.
Rising tensions in the Middle East
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
Tensions in the Middle East have long been a fluctuating and dangerous area of global concern.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and on Israeli territory itself is nothing new.
Iran and Israel have also been in conflict for a long time.
But after a brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli soil in October last year, things entered a new phase.
Israel reacted like never before, unleashing nearly ten months of ground war and airstrikes on the decimated enclave in an attempt to destroy Hamas and rescue its hostages.
The Iranian-backed terrorist group killed around 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 more in the heinous October 7 massacre.
The UN estimates that at least 39,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the new war broke out.
This number includes data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is under the control of Hamas and has raised concerns from authorities about its accuracy.
Now, after nearly ten months of war in Gaza, tensions appear to have reached a new level following a series of deadly attacks and high-profile killings in late July and early August.
On Saturday, July 27, a rocket attack fired from southern Lebanon hit a football field in the Golan Heights – a Druze village occupied by Israel – killing 12 young people, including children.
Both Israel and the US said Hezbollah, the largest of Iran’s proxy terrorist groups, which operates from Lebanon, was responsible for the deadly attack.
On Monday, July 28, the IDF launched an airstrike in an area of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, killing Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, Fuad Shukr.
Less than two days later, at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30, Israel killed Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, while he slept in Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Israel has not yet explicitly claimed responsibility for the attack, but after promising to eliminate all of Hamas last year, they are believed to be behind it.
US officials have also said they suspect Israel of being behind the killing.
On the morning of Thursday, August 1, the Israel Defense Forces announced that an attack on Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed Mohammed Deif on July 13.
Dief had worked as head of Hamas’ ruthless military wing, the al-Qassam brigades, since 2002.
It marked another major loss for Iran’s proxy terrorist groups in the region.
Early reports this week suggested that Ismail Haniyeh was shot down in a precision strike, when a rocket was fired from a drone outside his window and detonated inside the room.
Then a New York Times investigation suggested that a bomb had been planted in his room at the military complex where he was staying and detonated remotely.
Unnamed Iranian officials also shared the explosive theory with The Telegraph, further confusing the murky details surrounding Haniyeh’s death.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) concluded its investigation into the humiliating security breach on Saturday, August 1, and said he died after a “short-range projectile” was fired from outside the building.
A statement broadcast on Iranian state TV said a 7kg rocket warhead was used in the attack.
Iran and its proxy groups; Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen have vowed to take revenge on Israel for Haniyeh’s murder.
Then, on the night of Saturday, August 3, Hezbollah fired about 30 rockets from Lebanon toward Galilee in northern Israel.
Tel Aviv’s impressive Iron Dome Defense system went into action, destroying “most” of the missiles and no one was injured.
But the UK, US and France have urged all their citizens to evacuate Lebanon as fears of a wider war breaking out in the region continue to rise.
Austin emphasized that the US “remains intensely focused on reducing tensions in the region.”
President Biden is urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to disrupt hostage ceasefire agreement negotiations” while sending messages, “through regional partners,” urging Tehran to show restraint in your answer.
Calls for negotiation and containment are a far cry from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and between Israel and Iran.
In April, Iran launched an “unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack” against Israel, in retaliation for “an alleged Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria.”
Iran airstrike on Israel on April 13, 2024
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
IRAN launched an unprecedented aerial barrage against Israel during the night of Saturday, April 13th.
In the first attack of its kind, Iran launched 110 ballistic missiles, 36 cruise missiles and 185 attack drones across Middle East airspace.
Between Israel’s impressive Iron Dome air defense system and allied efforts from the UK and US, Tehran’s attack was largely thwarted.
At least four Typhoon fighter jets removed some of the weapons bound for Israel after leaving the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the ambush as a “declaration of war.”
Despite worldwide calls for cool heads to prevail, Netanyahu’s ranks have repeatedly insisted that a retaliatory strike would be the only response.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: “We cannot stand by in the face of this type of aggression, Iran will not be able to [off] impunity for this aggression.
“We will respond in our time, in our place, in any way we choose.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council promised to react against Israel if a counterattack was launched.
US President Joe Biden, who reportedly feared a catastrophic escalation in the Middle East, pressured Netanyahu to call off an immediate retaliation on Saturday night.
Israel’s war cabinet then spent days locked in decisive meetings and quickly approved plans for an “offensive,” but the timing and scale remained unclear.
Despite Israel’s claims to the contrary, the US made it clear that it would not contribute to a revenge coup against Iran.
Less than a week later, in the early hours of Friday, April 19, Israel reacted.
It launched a precise and targeted air strike against an Iranian air force base near the city of Isfahan – neighboring a nuclear facility.
The impressive feat of military might and accurate intelligence forced Iran to retreat.
Tensions have risen since then, as leaders of the US, Egypt and Qatar, among other countries, urge Israel and Hamas to resume talks on the war in Gaza and a potential ceasefire.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office shared that Israel “will send the negotiating team to a location to be determined [on August 15] to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement”, as reported by AP News.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
