The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Friday that it was deploying some additional assets to the Middle East and near the Middle East to increase force posture in the region amid an increased threat environment created by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The U.S. is replacing the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, which has been deployed in the region, with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

The Pentagon is also sending “additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command regions,” according to a statement. “The Department is also taking steps to increase our readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense.”

The U.S. is also sending an additional fighter squadron to the region.

The news comes as Western intelligence officials believe that a large scale attack against Israel will be launched in the coming days after Israel killed Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s top military commander, on Tuesday and is believed to be behind the Wednesday killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the top leader of Hamas.

Shukr was targeted after Hezbollah murdered 12 children inside Israel over the weekend and Haniyeh was targeted in response to the October 7 attacks.

Officials believe that the attack will include Iran and its largest terrorist proxy group, Hezbollah, which is located to Israel’s north in Lebanon. The attack may also include other Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including the Houthis in Yemen, and various groups in Iraq.

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President Joe Biden warned Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a private call this week “that he expects no more escalation from the Israeli side,” Axios reported, even though Israel was protecting itself against those who are responsible for killing large numbers of Israelis.

“Biden also warned Netanyahu that if he escalates again, he shouldn’t count on the U.S. to bail him out,” the report added.

Maphine Fogel, whose son has been in a Russian prison for three years, said it was “gut-wrenching” to see that her son was not included in Thursday’s prisoner exchange, to say nothing of not receiving a call from the Biden administration 

“The exchange yesterday was really gut wrenching,” Fogel told The Daily Wire. “When there were that many prisoners being exchanged, I thought he would surely be one of them… It’s just not a good feeling at all.”

Malphine Fogel, whose son has been in a Russian prison for 3 years, says she was devastated that he was excluded from the prisoner exchange. She also says she never even heard from Biden.

Trump met with her before his rally in Butler, PA and promised to free her son if he wins. pic.twitter.com/iEgxOPQIjA

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 2, 2024

The 95-year old is advocating for her son to receive “wrongfully detained” status, which would empower the United States government to provide financial support for Marc’s medical care and other needs.

On Thursday, Russia released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan, in what is being called the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War. Gershkovich spent over a year in Russian prison on trumped-up espionage charges. Whelan had been detained in Russia for six years.

Marc Fogel was given a 14-year-prison sentence for possessing medical marijuana, for which he had a prescription from an American doctor.

While the Biden-Harris Administration strongly advocated for the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner—who was imprisoned for the same crime—Fogel said she has heard nothing from the White House

Maphine worries the White House is ignoring her son because he is not as famous as other prisoners.

“I have not heard anything from President Biden or even anybody in the State Department,” she said. “Brittney Griner, I can see why they would want to get her out, but I think they’re ignoring the ordinary people who are also being held.”

Fogel said her son’s release is paramount because he has had three spinal operations and is in poor health.

While Fogel has never heard from President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, she has met with former President Donald Trump, who told her he’d do everything he can to free her son if he wins the election.

“He wanted to know all about Mark,” Fogel said.  “I gave him all the details, and he said, ‘if I get in, I will get him out’ and he pointed his thumb up towards the sky and he seemed very sincere.”

Fogel added that she told Trump to remember her son’s name.

“He repeated it, and I think he would know it today,” Fogel said.

Fogel was scheduled to take to the stage with Trump after meeting with him before the Butler, Pennsylvania rally when a would-be assassin fired at Trump. Fogel, who was about 25 feet away from Trump when the shots rang out, was immediately assisted by Republican lawmakers in attendance who helped her shelter and then flee.

Fogel said she wants people to know that while others were released, her son is still imprisoned and his situation is becoming dire.“He’s losing hope, and so are all of us, his family.”