The conflict in the Middle East poses a major strategic threat to Ukraine by diverting critical Western military resources, delaying peace negotiations, and boosting Russian revenues through higher oil prices.
Strategic Impacts on Ukraine
• Resource and Missile Drains: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that prolonged fighting involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel strains production lines and threatens future deliveries of vital anti-ballistic systems like Patriot missiles needed to protect Ukrainian skies.
• Delayed Peace Efforts: High-level diplomatic initiatives and settlement talks regarding the conflict with Russia have been repeatedly postponed as Washington and Western allies refocus their attention on the Middle East.
• Russian Advantage: The regional escalation benefits Moscow by driving up global energy prices, which fills the Kremlin's chest.
“WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter.
In the past week, special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases, according to flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to ramp up operations, according to one of the officials.
Additionally, more than 150 medics have arrived at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in recent days, another official said. The hospital is the primary location for treating troops injured in combat in the Middle East.
The preparations are the latest indication that Trump is considering escalating the conflict after three U.S. soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack in Jordan in recent days. A fourth service member was killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, the former commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, said the surge itself doesn't necessarily mean major military operations are inevitable.
"The big idea here is to give the president and the secretary [of defense] the most flexibility, and the force the most options to present to them," Votel said.
A spokesman for the Pentagon referred questions about the troop movements to U.S. Central Command, which declined to discuss details, citing operational security. In a statement, the White House said Trump "always has all options at his disposal."
The troop surge could also be designed to give Trump more capacity to target Yemen's Houthi militants, who threatened this week to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday, a tanker sailing through the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia was struck by an unknown projectile, sparking a fire, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations. The Houthis' military spokesman said the group had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Concerns have risen in Washington about the U.S.'s endgame and the mounting cost of the war, which has reached more than $37 billion, according to congressional testimony this week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Returning to all-out war also risks further draining U.S. munitions and exacerbating disruptions to global oil supplies, as Iran continues to attack commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House voted 216-214 to pass a $95 billion budget framework that includes an extra $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding, a first step in approving money sought by the White House. Some Republicans have aired concerns that voting for additional funds would be interpreted as approval from Congress for the war itself.
"I want to pay the troops. I do not want to support the war," said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa), who voted for the measure.
The House also approved, 216-212, its version of the National Defense Authorization Act policy bill with little support from Democrats, who say Trump has illegally bypassed Congress in waging the war.
Trump and Hegseth have defended the war, now in its fifth month, as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump on Wednesday threatened to bomb a bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacks a vessel traveling through the strategic waterway. U.S. Central Command said later it launched a 12th consecutive day of strikes against Iran.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a social-media post that "any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response."
The U.S. in recent days has deployed cargo flights from U.S. bases that house special-operations forces to the Middle East, the officials said. Special-operations forces were used for combat search and rescue operations during the first phase of the war known as Epic Fury, though they are capable of carrying out a range of missions.
Long-range bombers are also preparing for major combat operations, according to some of the officials. That includes B-1 bombers currently staged in the U.K.
The military also has sent aerial tankers, F-16 jet fighters from Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany and stealth F-35s from the air base at Lakenheath, England, to the region, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. Jordan and Israel are widely seen as the likely hosts for these aircraft.
Trump, a Republican, has ramped up his rhetoric against Iran, threatening to punish the country for the deaths of Americans.
Despite a tenuous ceasefire since April, the human toll of the conflict is rising. Overall, 18 U.S. troops have been killed during the conflict from enemy fire and accidents, while hundreds more have been wounded.
Iran also has fired on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil passed before the war. The U.S. has focused its attacks to try to degrade Iran's ability to threaten the strait. The Iranian regime has shown no signs of backing down, and its leaders have pledged to continue attacking U.S. forces and American partners in the Gulf.
Iran, which spent the ceasefire reconstituting its weapons programs that the U.S. and Israel tried to destroy in the early days of the war, has unleashed its arsenal of weapons against U.S. troops and infrastructure across the Middle East.” [1]
1. Surge of Forces Gives Trump Options to Escalate Iran War --- Influx of troops, medics, weaponry comes after deadly strikes by Tehran. Holliday, Shelby; Seligman, Lara; Kalin, Stephen. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 23 July 2026: A1.
Komentarų nėra:
Rašyti komentarą