The United States is reportedly launching major military maneuvers in the Middle East amid speculation that the Pentagon is preparing a response to Iran’s alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington.
The U.S. on Monday deployed 41 C-5 transport planes to prepare for a war game in the region that will test America’s ability to provide a rapid strategic airlift in response to a crisis, according to a report from an Israeli intelligence site, DEBKAfile.
The planes were expected to land in Israel and an Arab state packed with fighting units with full equipment, the report stated.
Warships with the Stennis battle group, including the John C. Stennis aircraft carrier, are in position to provide ground troops with combat support.
Paul Joseph Watson, editor and writer with the Prison Planet website, observes that whether the maneuvers “represent preparations for an actual military strike on Iran” remains to be seen.
Another regional media source, The Pakistan Observer, reports that the “deployment could be a part of a possible confrontation with Iran.”
DEBKAfile also states that the Israeli, Egyptian, and Saudi armies have been “put on a high state of preparedness.”
Iran has denied involvement in the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador. But New York Republican Rep. Peter King last week labeled the alleged Iranian plot an act of war.
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