WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - The United States said Sunday it fears 
an escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas and the prospect of Iran 
getting directly involved.

Speaking on CBS, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan cited 
the possibility of a new battle front on the Israel-Lebanon border and added, 
"We can't rule out that Iran would choose to get directly engaged some way. 
We have to prepare for every possible contingency."

Iran is a long-time backer of the militant group Hamas and of Hezbollah in 
Lebanon, providing them funding and weapons.

"That is a risk and that's a risk that we have been mindful of since the 
start," Sullivan said of the prospect of Iran getting involved in the war, 
which was triggered by the Hamas attack on southern Israel from Gaza last 
weekend.

"It's why the president moves so rapidly and decisively to get an aircraft 
carrier into the eastern Mediterranean, to get aircraft into the Gulf, 
because he sent a very clear message to any state or any actor that would 
seek to exploit this situation," Sullivan added.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the deployment of the second 
aircraft carrier on Saturday "to deter hostile actions against Israel or any 
efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack."

In the eastern Mediterranean the carrier USS Eisenhower and its accompanying 
ships will join the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was dispatched after the Hamas 
attack on October 7.

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, also said that the 
United States is concerned about a new front in the war opening on the 
Israeli border with Lebanon.

"We don't want to see another terrorist group like Hezbollah widening this 
and opening fronts to distract against the fight against Hamas," Kirby said 
on the "Fox News Sunday" program.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for several rocket attacks on northern 
Israel since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted.

"Of course Iran is broadly complicit and this has helped Hamas function and 
be able to conduct the terrorist attack they have conducted," Kirby said.

But he reiterated the US position that it has no intelligence pointing to 
specific Iranian participation in the Hamas attack.