ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The United States Department of Defense on Friday announced it was deploying additional military resources to the Middle East in an effort to deter attacks from Iran and its proxies in the region.

The reinforcements, ordered by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, will include additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and several long-range B-52 bombers.

The assets will begin to arrive in the coming months, according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder.

“Secretary Austin continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” said Ryder.

In October, the Pentagon announced it was deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to Israel. In late September, the Department of Defense said it was reinforcing its forces in the Middle East by deploying a "few thousand" troops.

The US military deployments come amid heightening tensions in the Middle East.

The Israeli military last week targeted several military sites across Iran in response to the latter’s ballistic missile attack on Israeli territory earlier in October. Tehran claimed that the damage from the attack was limited, but did announce that four of its soldiers were killed in the operation.

Following the operation, both the US and Israel warned Iran against responding and starting a new round of escalations. Iranian officials have threatened to retaliate.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq on early Saturday announced it had launched a drone toward a “vital target” in northern Israel. The group, which has claimed hundreds of strikes against Israel and US interests in the region since October 2023, has recently upped its attacks targeting Israeli territories.