A US defense official said Washington is considering options amid increased aggression from Russian planes in the skies over Syria.
The United States is deploying additional warplanes around the strategic Strait of Hormuz to protect ships from Iranian seizures, a senior US defense official said, according to a news report.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters Friday, the official said the US will send F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf region this weekend to reinforce A-10 fighter jets that have been patrolling there for more than a week.
Washington’s increase in military assets in the region comes after Iran attempted to hijack two oil tankers near the strait last week, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
The defense official, who asked to remain anonymous on condition of revealing details of U.S. military operations in the region, said the F-16s would provide air cover to ships passing through the waterway and increase U.S. military visibility in the region for deterrence Iran, the AP reported.
The US Navy said Iranian naval vessels backed down on two occasions recently when the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived at the scene.
The defense official also told reporters that the US is considering a range of military options to counter increasing Russian aggression in the skies over Syria. The official declined to give details of the options but said the US would not cede any territory and would continue to fly in the western part of Syria as part of operations against Islamic State (ISIS) fighters.
Russian military activities in Syria, which have increased in frequency and aggressiveness towards US forces since March, are due to increasing cooperation and coordination between Moscow, Tehran and the Syrian government to pressure the US to leave Syria, the said Officer.
The latest incident came on Friday morning when a Russian plane repeatedly flew over the al-Tanf garrison in eastern Syria, where US forces are training Syrian allies and monitoring ISIL activities.
The official said the Russian An-30 plane was gathering intelligence at the base. The US had no fighter jets in the area and took no direct action against the Russian flight, the official said.
There are about 900 US forces in the country, and others move in and out to conduct missions against ISIL.
In this image from video released by the US Air Force, a Russian SU-35 flies near a US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone over Syria on July 5, 2023. According to the US, Russian warplanes flew dangerously close to several of their drone planes over Syria, triggering flares and forcing the MQ-9 Reaper into evasive maneuvers [File: US Air Force via AP]