The Pentagon announced yesterday, Thursday, that 40,000 American soldiers are currently in the Middle East, compared to about 34,000 under normal circumstances.

"There are about 40,000 US troops in the US Central Command area of responsibility at this time," Pentagon spokesman Tom Crosson said.

"There are usually about 34,000 troops in the area," the spokesman added.

In turn, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that the Department of Defense continues to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East.

Singh noted that her country has strengthened its military power and capabilities throughout the Middle East to defend Israel and US forces.

She stressed that "the United States government also remains very focused on securing a ceasefire as part of the hostage deal to return all hostages home, and to end the war in Gaza."

Asked whether Iran would retaliate against Israel, and how the Pentagon assesses threats from its allies in the region, Singh said she “wouldn’t engage in a hypothesis about if and when that would happen.”

"What I can say is that we have increased and strengthened our regional presence so that we can send a deterrent message that we do not want to see this expand into a regional war, and when it comes to attacks on our forces, we always take the measures we need to respond," the spokeswoman continued.

"If there are any attacks on our forces, whether in Iraq or Syria, we always reserve that right to respond at a time and place of our choosing," Singh added.

On Sunday evening, the US Department of Defense revealed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the dispatch of a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East, and the acceleration of the arrival of an aircraft carrier strike group to the region, as part of US efforts to deter Iran and its allies amid escalating regional tensions.

According to a statement issued by Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder, Austin confirmed to his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant, during a phone call, his country's commitment to taking "every possible step" to defend Israel.

In furtherance of this commitment, the US Secretary of Defense has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transition to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, adding to the capabilities already provided by the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, Ryder said.

In addition, Austin ordered the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia to head to the CENTCOM area as well.

The strengthening of American capabilities in the Middle East comes at a time when Israel is anticipating retaliatory responses from Iran, Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for the assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on July 31, and the prominent leader in the party, Fouad Shukr, in Beirut the day before.

With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 132,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

In contempt of the international community, Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.