A US defense official said that Washington is studying options amid the escalation of Russian aircraft aggression in the skies of Syria.
A senior US defense official said the United States is deploying additional combat aircraft around the strategic Strait of Hormuz to protect ships from Iranian takeovers.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters on Friday, the official said the US will send F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf region this weekend to bolster A-10 attack aircraft that have been patrolling there for more than a week.
The Associated Press news agency reported that the increase in Washington’s military assets in the region comes after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait last week.
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of US military operations in the region, said the F-16s would provide air cover for ships moving through the waterway and would increase the visibility of the US military in the area, as a deterrent. to Iran, the Associated Press reported.
In two recent instances, the US Navy said, Iranian naval vessels backed away when the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived on the scene.
The defense official also told reporters that the United States is studying a number of military options to confront the increasing Russian aggression in the skies of Syria. The official declined to elaborate on the options, but said the United States would not cede any territory and would continue to fly in the western part of Syria as part of operations against Islamic State militants.
The official said that the Russian military activity in Syria, which has escalated in pace against the US forces since March, stems from the growing cooperation and coordination between Moscow, Tehran and the Syrian government to try to pressure the US to leave Syria.
The latest incident was on Friday morning when a Russian plane repeatedly flew over the al-Tanf barracks in eastern Syria, where US forces are training Syrian allies and monitoring ISIS activity.
The official said the Russian An-30 was gathering intelligence on the base. The official said the United States had no combat aircraft in the area and took no direct action against the Russian flight.
There are about 900 American soldiers in the country, and others are in and out to carry out missions targeting ISIS.
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