The US will deploy a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and keep an aircraft carrier in the region to strengthen military presence and protect Israel from potential Iranian threats, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has also ordered additional missile defense-capable ships to Europe and the Middle East and plans to send more land-based missile defence systems, according to a Pentagon statement, as reported by Times of Israel.

These actions fulfill President Joe Biden’s promise to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a call Thursday, Biden discussed new US military deployments to counter possible ballistic missile and drone attacks. In April, US forces intercepted numerous missiles and drones fired by Iran against Israel.

US leaders are concerned about escalating violence in the Middle East following recent attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, which led to threats of retaliation. Iran also threatened a response after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in Beirut.

Israel claimed responsibility for Shukr’s death but did not officially comment on Haniyeh’s assassination.

Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which is currently in the Gulf of Oman but scheduled to return home later this summer. This decision indicates the Pentagon’s plan to maintain a carrier presence in the region as a deterrent against Iran.

The Pentagon did not specify the origin or exact location of the fighter jet squadron in the Middle East. Many regional allies prefer to keep such deployments confidential.

The Pentagon has options for additional land-based missile defence systems, such as the Patriot or THAAD. The specific system to be deployed was not identified.