Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown on Monday warned Iran “not to get involved” in the Israel-Hamas conflict that erupted over the past weekend.
“We want to send a pretty strong message. We do not want this to broaden, and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear,” Gen. Brown told reporters while in Brussels, coming just days after he assumed the role, according to Reuters.
Hamas, a State Department-designated terrorist organization, launched a series of surprise attacks on Israel on Saturday, leaving hundreds of Israelis dead. The group also confirmed that it had captured a number of Israeli nationals, while its armed wing on Monday threatened to execute those captives if Israel shells areas in Gaza without warning.
The White House has said that Iran was complicit, although it has not publicly provided intelligence that points to the country’s direct participation in the attacks on Israel. Officials have, however, noted that Shi'a Iran is the chief backer of Sunni Hamas and has provided the group with training and weapons.
When asked about what the U.S. message to Iran is, Gen. Brown said Monday, “Not to get involved.” He also compared Hamas’s recent actions to ISIS terrorists who ran amok in Syria and Iraq in the mid-2010s.
Before being confirmed as the top U.S. general, Gen. Brown was the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, and he also oversaw air operations against ISIS. He took over after Mark Milley stepped down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff late last month.
Some U.S. officials have also warned that Iran-backed Hezbollah, also designated a terrorist group, may open a second front in the Hamas-Israel conflict. Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, fought Israel in a month-long war in 2006.
Israeli shelling on Lebanon killed at least three Hezbollah militants on Monday, and Israel said one of its officers was killed during an earlier cross-border raid claimed by Palestinians in Lebanon. The cross-border violence marked a significant expansion of a conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza to the Israeli-Lebanese border further north.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Sunday announced he directed the movement of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group closer to Israel. Those warships include the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, and multiple guided missile destroyers.
“In addition, the United States government will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions,” Austin said in a statement. “The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days.”
Responding to that announcement, Gen. Brown said that “it sends a very strong message of support for Israel. But it’s also to send a strong message of deterrence to contain broadening this particular conflict.
Airstrikes
On Tuesday, Israel hammered the Gaza Strip as Israel has vowed to take “mighty revenge” while calling up hundreds of thousands of reservists and placing Gaza under total siege.Israel’s embassy in Washington said the death toll from the weekend Hamas attacks had surpassed 1,000, dwarfing all modern Islamist attacks on the West except for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Israeli victims were overwhelmingly civilians, gunned down in homes, on streets, or at an outdoor dance party. Scores of Israelis and some foreigners were captured and taken to Gaza as hostages, some paraded through the streets.
At least 770 Gazans have since been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza officials.
Israel’s next move could be a ground offensive into Gaza, territory it left in 2005, after 38 years of occupation, and has kept under blockade since Hamas seized power there in 2007. The siege it announced on Monday would keep out even food and fuel.
The new war tore up the plans of diplomats at a crucial juncture, when Israel was on the verge of an agreement to normalize relations with the richest Arab power, Saudi Arabia.
Western countries including the United States have backed Israel. Arab cities have seen demonstrations in support of the Palestinians.
Top Iranian officials celebrated the attacks, but denied a direct role. “We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech while wearing a Palestinian scarf, though he said accusations Tehran was behind it were false.
