US moving fighter jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran war rages
The U.S. military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering U.S. military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three U.S. officials said.
One of the officials 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 Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters was first to report on Monday the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, providing options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar.
U.S. 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.
A fourth U.S. defense official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional U.S. 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 defense 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.
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Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
What do we know about Israel's own nuclear weapons?
Donald Trump has repeated in recent days, often in capital letters on his Truth Social account, that Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. His view is shared by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, who has said that Israel's surprise attack on Iran, which has killed hundreds since 13 June, is a pre-emptive measure to stop Iran from creating a nuclear weapon. Iran denies it is trying to produce nuclear arms, and that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes. It is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which says that states that do not already have nuclear weapons cannot obtain them. The NPT gives the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the power to monitor and verify that non-nuclear states are complying. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Last week, the watchdog said that Iran had breached its obligations - an action Tehran strongly condemned, and claimed provided a pretext for Israel's surprise assault. But unlike Iran, Israel has not signed the NPT, and is one of only five countries not to be party to the 1968 treaty. This means that the IAEA has no way to monitor or verify Israel's nuclear arsenal. Little is known about Israel's nuclear programme, which it has a policy of neither confirming nor denying. However, declassified documents, investigative research and whistleblower revelations from the 1980s have pointed to what it has. What nuclear weapons does Israel possess? Israel is one of nine countries that are known to have nuclear weapons, along with the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea. It is believed to possess around 90 nuclear warheads and enough plutonium to produce around 200 more nuclear weapons, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Israel has between 750 and 1,110kg of plutonium, which would be enough to build 187 to 277 nuclear weapons. An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli Air Force pilots on 28 December 2022 (AFP/Jack Guez) These presumed weapons can be fired from the air, sea and land. Israel owns US-produced F-15, F-16 and F-35 aircraft, all of which can be modified to hold nuclear bombs. It is also believed to have six Dolphin-class submarines, produced by a German company, which may be capable of launching nuclear cruise missiles. The land-based Jericho family of ballistic missiles has a range of up to 4,000km. Researchers estimate that around 24 of these can carry nuclear warheads, although the exact number is unclear. How did Israel's nuclear programme begin? David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, launched the nuclear project during the mid to late 1950s. A large complex was built at Dimona, a city in the Negev desert (the site is referred to simply as "Dimona"). It was there that the first batch of plutonium was produced, with help from the French government. 'Most credible accounts point to France's role in the late 1950s,' Shawn Rostker, a research analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told Middle East Eye. 'It helped build the Dimona reactor, supplied key reactor technology, and backed plutonium reprocessing capabilities, laying the groundwork for Israel's nuclear progress.' The coordination between Paris and Israel was born out of a shared hostility towards Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt's then-president, according to French historians. French-Israeli cooperation was kept secret: even the US, Israel's closest ally, was initially unaware. Avner Cohen, an Israeli-American historian and professor, is one of the most prominent researchers on Israel's nuclear history and has written several books on the subject, including Israel and the Bomb. 'About half a century ago Israel acquired nuclear weapons capability, but it has done so in a manner unlike any other nuclear weapons state did, prior or after,' he told Middle East Eye. His research, which includes analysis of recently declassified US documents, found that Washington during the late 1950s and early 1960s repeatedly questioned Israel about what it was doing at Dimona. Eventually, under US pressure, Ben Gurion told the Knesset in December 1960 that the Dimona reactor was 'a research reactor' which would serve 'industry, agriculture, health and science'. Thus began an elaborate and long-running deception, as US officials inspected the site on eight occasions between 1961 and 1969. During these visits, an underground separation plant, essential for the production of weapons-grade plutonium, was concealed. Other parts of the site were camouflaged to disguise the purpose of the complex. Israel was making significant progress between the visits. It is believed to have completed its secret underground separation plant by 1965; to have begun producing weapons-grade plutonium by 1966; and to have assembled a nuclear weapon before June 1967 and the start of the Middle East war. What was the 1969 Nixon-Meir deal? By the end of the 1960s, the US had finally learnt the true purpose of Dimona. According to Cohen, a secret deal was struck, still in place, that Washington would not ask questions if Israel kept quiet. 'In 1969, the US accepted the Israeli exceptionalist nuclear status, as long as Israel was committed to keeping its presence invisible and opaque. This is known as the 1969 Nixon-Meir nuclear deal,' Cohen told MEE, referring to then-leaders Richard Nixon and Golda Meir. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir listens to American President Richard Nixon at the White House in Washington on 1 March 1973 (AFP) Since then, Israel has kept to its side and operated a policy of deliberate obscurity, with officials neither acknowledging nor denying the existence of a nuclear arsenal. The US has gone along with it, even reportedly been threats of disciplinary action against any US official who publicly acknowledges the programme. In 2009, US President Barack Obama was asked whether any countries in the Middle East had nuclear weapons. He replied that he would not speculate. Has Israel tested nuclear weapons? Of the nine nuclear powers, Israel is the only one not to have openly conducted a nuclear test. The closest evidence has been what is known as the 'Vela incident' in September 1979, when Israel and apartheid era-South Africa may have conducted a joint nuclear test on an island where the South Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean. US satellites at the time detected an unexplained double flash of light, usually a tell-tale sign of a nuclear blast. 'Israel is a sovereign country and will make decisions based on its own security and interests' Shawn Rostker, research analyst South Africa's apartheid government developed weapons of mass destruction for five decades, but ended its nuclear programme in 1989. It is the only country to have achieved nuclear weapon capability but relinquished it voluntarily. Jimmy Carter, who was US president at the time of the incident, said he believed the Vela incident to have been an Israeli nuclear test. 'We have a growing belief among our scientists that the Israelis did indeed conduct a nuclear test explosion in the ocean near the southern end of South Africa,' he wrote in White House Diary, an annotated version of a journal kept during his presidency and which was published in 2010. When did Israel's nuclear weapons become widely known? Israel's nuclear programme finally hit the headlines in October 1986, when former nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu revealed details about Dimona to the Sunday Times. Vanunu, who had worked at the site for nine years, said it was capable of producing 1.2kg of plutonium a week, which would be enough for around 12 nuclear warheads a year. He said that during the US visits in the 1960s, American officials had been tricked by false walls and concealed elevators, and that they were unaware that there were a further six floors hidden underground. Former Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu walks free out of the high security prison of Shikma in Askelon, southern Israel, on 21 April 2004 (AFP/Menahem Kahana) Vanunu took 60 pictures of Dimona, several of which were published by the British newspaper. In the years running up to leaking the information, Vanunu had become disillusioned with Israel's actions, opposing its invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and calling for equal rights for Palestinians. But before his story was even published, Vanunu was abducted by Israeli agents. Staying in London at the expense of The Sunday Times, he was persuaded by a female Mossad agent to go to Rome. There he was, drugged, taken to Israel, found guilty of espionage and served 18 years in prison - more than half in solitary confinement. Upon his release in 2004, he was banned from travelling or speaking to foreign journalists. Those restrictions remain in place. What is Israel's strategy for using nuclear weapons? In 2011, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked by Piers Morgan to confirm that Israel doesn't have nuclear weapons. He replied: 'That's our policy. Not to be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.' It's a line that is often repeated by Israeli officials when pressed on the issue. 'Israel never clarified publicly what 'introduction' means,' said Cohen, adding that Israel treated nuclear activities as classified and outside of its defence and foreign policies. 'Hence, Israel has no public strategy involving nuclear use. It is understood that Israel sees no use of nuclear weapons except in the most extreme scenarios of 'last resort'. 'It is understood that Israel sees no use of nuclear weapons except in the most extreme scenarios of "last resort"' Avner Cohen, Israeli-American historian and professor 'It is also widely understood that as long as Israel maintains its regional benign monopoly, it does not view its capability as weapons.' The "scenario of last resort" is sometimes referred to as 'the Samson Option', a phrase believed to have been coined by Israeli leaders during the mid-1960s. The principle is that Israel would use nuclear retaliation if it faced an existential threat. Samson was a biblical Jewish figure who, chained by his enemies, the Philistines, in a temple, used his God-given strength to collapse a pillar, killing himself and his captors. It is in stark contrast, say analysts, to the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), where if one nuclear power pre-emptively attacked another, then the targeted nation would still have time to retaliate, ensuring neither would survive. But in theory, the Samson Option could apply if Israel faces a military defeat that it considers existential, even from a non-nuclear power. Cohen and several other researchers have said that during the Middle East war of 1973, when Egypt and Syria mounted a surprise attack, Israel considered the option. But while they have never admitted the existence of nuclear weapons, Israeli leaders have implied that they can be used if necessary. 'Our submarine fleet acts as a deterrent to our enemies,' Netanyahu said in a 2016 speech. 'They need to know that Israel can attack, with great might, anyone who tries to harm it.' More recently, in November 2023, a government minister publicly suggested that Israel dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was 'an option'. Amichai Eliyahu, Israel's heritage minister, was briefly suspended from government meetings for the comments, and later took to social media to state that it was meant to be 'metaphorical'. What's the world said about Israel's nuclear weapons? Israel is one of only five states that are not party to the NPT, the 1968 treaty which sought to bring nuclear weapons use under international control. What is Israel building at its Dimona nuclear site? Richard Silverstein Read More » India and Pakistan have never signed the treaty. North Korea signed it but withdrew in 2003. South Sudan is the only signatory not to have nuclear weapons. In December 2014, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted (by 161 votes to five) to approve a resolution urging Israel to renounce the possession of nuclear weapons, accede to the NPT 'without further delay' and place all of its nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the IAEA. The resolution was non-binding. Israel has not complied. 'Israel is a sovereign country and will make decisions based on its own security and interests,' said Rostker. 'That said, a more open approach could help build confidence and reduce nuclear tensions without compromising deterrence.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Countries evacuate citizens from Israel and Iran as war intensifies
Countries around the world are evacuating their citizens from Israel and Iran as flights are scrapped and airspaces closed due to the air war in the Middle East. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or delayed. Most European evacuees leaving Israel have been taken by bus to Jordan or Egypt before flying to their home country. China, India, Pakistan and other states have started the process in Iran. It comes as Israel and Iran trade strikes and threats on the sixth day of the conflict. Adding to the tension, US President Donald Trump called for Tehran to surrender late on Tuesday before Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused to back down in a speech broadcast on Wednesday. China has evacuated nearly 800 nationals and has started moving its citizens from Tehran to Turkmenistan by bus, a distance of 1,150km, the state-run China News Service reported. A spokesperson for the country's foreign ministry said it had not received any reports of Chinese casualties. A total of 791 Chinese nationals "have already been relocated from Iran to safe areas, and over 1,000 more are in the process of being evacuated,' the spokesperson said. India's foreign ministry said Indian students in Tehran have been moved out of the city, with media reports suggesting that 110 have been relocated. 'Other residents who are self-sufficient in terms of transport have also been advised to move out of the city in view of the developing situation,' the ministry said. Some Indians have also been able to leave Iran through the Armenian border, the ministry added. Hundreds of Pakistanis living in Iran arrived at the Taftan border crossing on Wednesday as they make their way back home. Although Pakistan has shut some of the formal crossings, the borders at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan in south-west Balochistan province remain open for nationals seeking to return home. Bulgarian authorities said that 148 people – 89 Bulgarian citizens and 59 foreign nationals – were successfully evacuated from Israel on Wednesday. The foreign ministry said a chartered flight from Egypt was arranged after the evacuees were transported from Israel to Egypt by road. Diplomatic staff evacuations The families of British diplomatic staff in Israel have been 'temporarily withdrawn', the UK Foreign Office said. British citizens have already been advised against all travel to Israel and those already in the country have been urged to register their presence with the embassy. Earlier in the week, Downing Street said the UK had no plans to evacuate British nationals stranded in Israel but had increased support in Jordan and Egypt for people making their own way out of the country overland. Germany has said its citizens must travel by their own means to Amman before boarding charter flights to Frankfurt. Around 4,000 of its citizens in Israel and 1,000 in Iran have registered on a crisis list, the ministry said. Cyprus, the EU country closest to the Middle East, has activated its Estia plan to assist evacuations from nearby countries. Estia was last activated in October, when Israel launched a bombing campaign against Lebanon. Poland has also evacuated 200 citizens from Israel and Jordan and moved its diplomatic staff in Iran to Baku, Azerbaijan. 'We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,' said Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys. 'Our colleagues will try to reach the border with Azerbaijan,' she said, without specifying how many people were involved. Border nations assist operations More than 600 people from 17 countries left Iran for Azerbaijan between Friday and Tuesday, Reuters reported. Tehran to Azerbaijan by road is a journey of about eight hours, while reaching the Armenian border takes more than 10 hours. An Azerbaijan foreign ministry spokesperson said more than 1,200 citizens from 51 countries had requested permission to cross from Iran into Azerbaijan. The Kremlin has thanked Azerbaijan for helping Russian citizens leave Iran. Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, said 'many Iranian citizens who had previously been in Turkey and Russia have returned to Iran via Armenia'. 'Efforts are continuing to facilitate the return of Iranian citizens amid flight cancellations,' Mr Sobhani said. Greece has repatriated 105 of its citizens and foreign nationals from Israel. 'The people repatriated were transported to Athens from Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, on-board C-130 and C-27 Greek air force planes,' its foreign ministry said. 'Along with Greek citizens and their families, other people on the flight included citizens of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States,' it added. Israel airlifts stranded citizens Israel has launched a phased airlift operation to bring home its citizens, after the closing of air space across the Middle East left tens of thousands stuck overseas. The first rescue flight, operated by national carrier El Al, touched down at Tel Aviv Airport on Wednesday morning, returning passengers from Larnaca, Cyprus. Worldwide, Israel's transport ministry estimates that more than 50,000 stranded Israelis are trying to get home. Meanwhile, the Japanese government has started making arrangements to send a military plane to Djibouti as part of its effort to help Japanese nationals in Iran and Israel evacuate, according to commercial broadcaster Fuji Television Network.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Sight of Iranian missiles streaking across night sky reminds Egypt of perils ahead
Iranian missiles can be seen with the naked eye in Egypt as they streak across the night sky like shooting stars while travelling towards Israel. Unleashed hundreds of kilometres away in Iran and flying at high altitude, the missiles do not look particularly menacing. Yet for Egypt they serve as a potent reminder of the potential perils ahead as the Iran-Israel war rages on amid suggestions of US involvement on Israel's side. Egypt is deeply alarmed by the conflict, knowing it is only a matter of time before the fallout hits its fragile economy so hard that it might need a global aid package similar to last year's $50 billion bailout merely to stay afloat. Perhaps more disconcerting for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's government is that a deeper economic crisis could trigger unrest in the nation of 106 million, which has struggled in the past decade with double-digit inflation, additional taxes and a rapidly devaluing currency. The war, which began on June 13, has already caused Egypt 's currency to lose ground to the US dollar. The stock market also took a beating, while on the nation's lucrative debt market 'hot money' was leaving in a hurry, putting pressure on limited foreign currency reserves. Underscoring the depth of the alarm, some Egyptians, mostly those with deep pockets, are hoarding food and basic medicine because they fear a possible disruption of global supply chains if the conflict becomes broader. But not all are on board with this coping tactic, or can afford it, in a country where the majority are leading a hand-to-mouth existence, or surviving from pay cheque to pay cheque at best. 'I haven't stocked up on anything, this is nonsense,' said Ibtisam Ahmed, a 73-year-old retiree and mother of three from Cairo. "If there are shortages, then we will all suffer together as one people. What I and many others fear is not the shortage of food. We fear power cuts that will leave us living in darkness and we fear lack of security on the streets.' Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has advised Egyptians to curb electricity consumption. Seeking to head off a popular backlash at a critical time, his government is rushing to find alternative imports of fuel supplies to avoid power cuts in the summer and has been issuing reassuring messages on the nation's reserves of essential food items. Addressing parliament on Tuesday, Planning Minister Rania Al Mashat made clear the government was not taking any chances. Officials, she explained, were closely monitoring the situation in the region and were prepared to revise the indicators of Egypt's 2025-2026 budget that will come into effect on July 1. 'It could prove necessary that we revise indicators in case current regional developments persist or worsen,' she told legislators, referring to the Israel-Iran war. Mr Madbouly has set up a 'crisis committee' to monitor the fallout from the war, she added. Michael Hanna, director of the US Programme at the International Crisis Group in New York, said: 'Egypt is very vulnerable and there is a lot at stake now. It does not have much of a role that impacts on what's happening and had never been a player in years of animosity between Israel and Iran, but it stands to lose a lot from this conflict. This war could go on for long if Iran does not run out of missiles." The potentially damaging fallout from the fighting comes as Egypt is struggling to shield itself from the ripples of its crisis-ridden neighbours: Sudan's civil war, Libya's 14 years of civil strife and the 20-month-old Israeli war in Gaza. The challenges have prompted pro-government talk show hosts and loyal social media accounts to send out messages of support to Mr El Sisi, urging Egyptians to rally behind his leadership and place their trust in the military's ability to defend the nation. Their seemingly state-orchestrated narrative is clearly on Iran's side, a reflection of Cairo's tense relations with Israel and, in contrast, its rapidly improving ties with Iran. But the government's handling of the potential fallout from the war has not been met with universal approval in Egypt. In thinly veiled criticism, one of Egypt's most-celebrated politicians, former foreign minister and Arab League chief Amr Moussa, suggested the rarely convened National Security Council led by Mr El Sisi must meet to shoulder its responsibility of "dealing with the threats facing the nation's security and take the necessary steps to contain them". Cairo's jitters have been on display in the past week, when authorities appeared to go to great lengths to prevent foreign pro-Palestinian activists and their local peers from staging a symbolic march to the Gaza border in support of beleaguered Palestinians. The government said the activists would need permission to demonstrate, a process that has never been fruitful since Egypt effectively banned street protests in 2013. Scores of activists were detained and deported on arrival at Cairo airport. Many who slipped through security at the airport were detained and deported after police raids at Cairo hotels and an area outside the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, where scores had gathered. Security sources said the crackdown was designed chiefly to stop Egypt's pro-Palestinian activists from joining the march and turning it into an anti-government rally.
