US deploys a dozen F-22 stealth jets to Israel, expanding its military presence in Middle East amid tension with Iran
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "US deploys a dozen F-22 stealth jets to Israel, expanding its military presence in Middle East amid tension with Iran")
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The fifth-generation F-22 stealth jets landed at an Israeli air force airbase in south Israel on Tuesday, according to various US media outlets.
Amid rising tensions with Iran, United States has deployed F-22 stealth jets, considered its most advanced fighter planes, to Israel, reported The New Yor Times. The deployment of F-22 Raptor is another step in US President Donald Trump's move in expanding its Military presence in the Middle East. Flight tracking data and videos by plane spotters showed the fighter jets taking off from their the Lakenheath airbase in the United Kingdom.
The fifth-generation aircraft landed at an Israeli air force airbase in south Israel on Tuesday, according to various US media outlets. They also reported about the jets flying with their transponders deactivated. However, they were accompanied by refueling tankers that kept their transponders on.
The jets that included F-35s, F-22s, F-15s and F-16s arrived just two days before Thursday's nuclear negotiations between the two sides. The US Air Force has described the fighter as ones that "cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft".
The US buildup in the Middle East now includes two aircraft carrier strike groups and over 60 fighter jets, positioned at a Jordan base.
Khamenei's warning to US
Earlier this month, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a stark warning to the United States said any misadventure by Washington would lead to a “regional war” in the Mideast.
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"America should know that if it starts a war, this time it will be a regional war," said Khamenei to the local media.
"We are not the ones who start a war and we do not want to attack any country, but if America attacks or harms Iran the Iranian nation will deliver a strong blow and any war started by America will spread across the region," he added.
