US President Donald Trump is reportedly contemplating participation in Israel’s ongoing strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, per US media.
This follows a one-hour-and-20-minute meeting with his national security team in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday, where he evaluated options amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict.
F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft deployement
The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, according to a report by news agency Reuters. Citing three officials related to the development, the agency said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.
The movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, provided hints about Trump’s direct involvement in Middle East tensions. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the deployments as defensive in nature, as Washington looks to safeguard forces in the Middle East from potential blowback from Iran and Iran-aligned forces in the region.
US forces in Middle East
A fourth US defence official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional US Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles. The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defence systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.
Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.