MOSCOW, August 4 The head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) Michael Kurilla arrived in the Middle East on Saturday. He is expected to visit the Persian Gulf countries, Jordan and Israel to mobilize a coalition to protect Israel amid preparations for a possible attack by Iran, the Axios portal reports, citing sources.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Hamas movement reported the death of its political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran, where he had arrived to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president. The movement blamed Israel and the United States for Haniyeh's death and said the attack would not go unanswered.
«The U.S. general in charge of American forces in the Middle East arrived in the region on Saturday amid ongoing preparations for a possible attack on Israel by Iran in retaliation for the killings of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders… Gen. Michael Kurilla's trip to the region was planned before the recent flare-up in tensions between Israel, Iran and Hezbollah, but he is expected to try to mobilize the same international and regional coalition that defended Israel from an attack by Iran on April 13,» the portal's website said, citing two U.S. official sources.
Kurilla is expected to visit several Gulf states, Jordan and Israel, U.S. officials said, with Jordan the most important visit because that country played a major role in repelling the April 13 attacks.
The IRGC launched an airstrike on Israel on the night of April 14 in response to the destruction of the Iranian consulate in Syria by Israeli aircraft earlier this month. According to various sources, the attack involved several hundred missiles and drones, including Shahed kamikaze drones, Fattah and Fattah-2 hypersonic missiles. Iran's state-run Press TV reported that all the hypersonic missiles hit their targets.
According to the Israeli army, Iran launched a total of more than 300 munitions and UAVs, including about 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. At the same time, Israel claims that only «a few missiles» reached the country and caused «minor damage.»
On Wednesday, the New York Times, citing sources, claimed that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered a direct strike on Israel in response to Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran. Later, Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeed Irwani told a Security Council meeting that Tehran, in accordance with international law, reserves the right to self-defense to respond to Haniyeh's assassination whenever it deems it necessary. He also said that the assassination would not have happened without US intelligence support for Israel. Iran's mission to the UN also called on the Security Council to impose sanctions against Israel for its acts of aggression.
The situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border has escalated since Israel launched military operations in the Gaza Strip in October 2023. The Israeli army and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have been shelling each other's positions daily in areas along the border. According to the Lebanese Foreign Ministry, about 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes in southern Lebanon due to shelling from Israel. The Israeli side reported about 80,000 residents of northern Israel who found themselves in a similar situation.