US to send F-16 fighter jets in Gulf region to protect ships from Iranian seizure
Middle East, News, US July 16, 2023 1 Comment on US to send F-16 fighter jets in Gulf region to protect ships from Iranian seizureThe United States is considering deploying additional F-16 fighter jets around the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf region with the task to protect ships from the Iranian seizure, a U.S. Department of Defense official has said.
According to Pentagon officials, the U.S. F-16 fighter jets would fly to the Gulf region this weekend to integrate with the existing fleet of A-10 fighter jets that have been deployed and continue to patrol the Strait of Hormuz on a regular basis.
“A-10s have been flying over the Strait of Hormuz and over the broader [Gulf] areas for about a week and a half now. And we are starting to fly F-16s this weekend, as well, to further robust that presence,” the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on July 15, 2023.
The U.S. Navy has reported at least two recent instances in which an Iranian naval vessel tried to seize trade vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and backed off after USS McFaul, the U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyer, arrived at the scene.
The official also voiced Washington’s concerns about Iran’s increasingly close ties with Russia, especially on matters related to Syria. The official said that Tehran, Moscow, and Damascus were looking to push the United States out of Syria.
“Iran wants us gone [from Syria] so they can complete the Shia crescent to continue to move lethal aid that might threaten Israel and push that over to Lebanese Hezbollah,” he said.
Russia has increased its military activities in Syria while Iran is growing cooperation with the Syrian leadership. Syria’s Bashar Al Assad has also started to mend relations with other Arab leaders as Syria has been accepted back into the Arab League after more than a decade-long suspension. All these factors have built pressure on the U.S. to leave Syria. The U.S. has more than 900 troops deployed in the country.
Last week, U.S. Air Force reported that a Russian aircraft flew repeatedly over the Al Tanf garrison in eastern Syria, where U.S. forces are training Syrian allies and monitoring ISIS activities. The U.S. officials said the Russian An-30 aircraft was collecting intelligence on the base. The U.S. Air Force did not have fighter aircraft in the area to confront the Russian jet and took no direct action.
The official added that the Russian aircraft did not plan to drop bombs on U.S. troops or shoot down manned aircraft. However, he raised concerns that Russian pilots could attack the U.S. Air Force Reaper drones out of the sky and that Moscow believes that the U.S. military would not react strongly to such action.
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[…] the Department of Defense deputy press secretary said that the Iranian navy attempted to illegally seize two merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of […]