US deploys F-16 jets to Middle East amid rising tensions over potential Israel strike on Iran

The US, on Friday, deployed a squadron of F-16 fighter jets to the Middle East amid rising expectations of an Israeli strike on Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“US Air Force F-16s from the 480th Fighter Squadron based at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany arrive in the US Central Command area of ​​responsibility,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

CENTCOM did not specify the intended operational role of the F-16s but emphasized their mission to reinforce US presence in the region.

The deployment comes as regional tensions mount as Israel is expected to retaliate against Iran following a large-scale retaliatory ballistic missile attack on Israel on 1 October.

Iran said it carried out the attack in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’s former political leader in Tehran in July and the killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last month

Nearly 200 missiles were fired in the salvo, which hit several locations in Israel, including a military facility, but resulted in no fatalities.

The exchanges of fire between Tel Aviv and Tehran have escalated this year after Israel bombed Iran’s Embassy in Syria on 1 April, killing senior military officials. Iran responded to that attack two weeks later by launching hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel.

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