US F-15s arrive in Middle East as Israel preps Iran retaliation
A new squadron of US F-15s arrived at an undisclosed base in the region this week as Washington works to stop Israel from escalating the fighting in a counterattack on Iran.
Another squadron of US Air Force F-15s arrived in the Middle East this week, the US military said, as Washington aims to persuade Israel not to launch a major counterattack in response to Iran's Oct. 1 ballistic missile barrage against Israel.
The F-15s arrived at an undisclosed base in the region on Wednesday, US Central Command said. They join additional US F-16s that arrived earlier this month, bolstering US fighter squadrons already in the region including highly advanced stealth F-22 Raptors. The United States also has several mid-air refueling tankers based in the region as well as an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Gulf of Oman within striking distance of Iran and Yemen.
Several US Navy destroyers are also in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean, where an amphibious-borne Marine Expeditionary Unit remains ready in case the United States orders the evacuation of its citizens from Lebanon.
The aim of the deployments is to reassure Israel and US-aligned nations in the Persian Gulf region while dissuading Iran from launching attacks on those countries or on US troops. Pentagon officials have refused to publicly rule out US military participation in the Israeli strikes. President Joe Biden called last week on Israel to exact a "proportionate" response and not to target Iran's nuclear enrichment sites or oil facilities.
