The United States sends F-16 fighter jets to the Strait of Hormuz after Iran opened fire on an oil tanker

Talking to pentagonal The official told reporters that the United States will send F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf region this weekend to reinforce the A-10 attack aircraft that have been patrolling there for more than a week. This step comes next Iran I tried to grab two oil Tankers near the strait last week opened fire on one of them.

The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of military operations in the area, said the F-16s would provide air cover for ships moving through the waterway and would increase the military’s visibility in the area, as a deterrent to Iran. .

In both cases, the US Navy said, Iranian naval vessels retreated when the destroyer USS McFaul arrived on the scene.

In addition, the defense official told reporters that the United States is studying a number of military options to counter Russia’s growing aggression in the skies. SyriaThis complicated efforts to strike at the ISIS leader at the end of last week. 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 the country on missions against the Islamic State group.

the the Russian army The official indicated that the activity, which has escalated in pace and aggression since March, stems from the growing cooperation and coordination between Moscow, Tehran and the Syrian government to try to pressure the United States to leave Syria.

said the official Russia Beholden to Iran for its support in the war UkraineAnd Tehran wants the United States out of Syria so that it can transfer lethal aid to the Lebanese more easily Hizb allah and threaten Israel. The official added that the United States has seen more collaboration, cooperation, planning and intelligence sharing, largely between mid-level Russian and Iranian Quds Force commanders in Syria, to pressure the United States to withdraw forces from Syria.

There are about 900 American troops in the country, and others move in and out on missions targeting Islamic State militants.

The United States does not believe that Russian aircraft plan to drop bombs on American forces or to shoot down manned aircraft. But the official said there were concerns about Russian pilots shooting down a Reaper drone, and that Moscow believed that this type of action would not garner a strong US military response.

For example, in March, a Russian warplane poured jet fuel on a US reconnaissance drone and then struck its propeller, forcing the US military to do so. Take down an MQ-9 Reaper in the Black Sea. The incident exacerbated tensions between the two countries and prompted a call between their defense chiefs, but it did not lead to a direct military response.

Last week, Rear Admiral Oleg Gorinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, said that the Russian and Syrian armies are conducting joint exercises. In remarks reported by Syrian state media, he said Moscow was concerned about the US-led coalition flying drones over northern Syria, describing them as “systematic violations of protocols” aimed at avoiding clashes between the two armies.

American and Russian military commanders routinely communicate via a deconfliction phone line that has been in place for several years to avoid unintended clashes in Syria, where both sides have forces on the ground and in the air.

There are often several calls a day, the US official said, sometimes resulting in angry threats as commanders argue over an ongoing operation. Describing a conversation, the official said the Russians would often declare an area of ​​space a restricted area of ​​operations and say they conduct military exercises there.

The United States sees no maneuvers, telling Russia that American forces are on a counter-terrorism mission against the Islamic State and plan to fly in that area. Then the Russians say they can’t guarantee the safety of American planes if they go there. Once the mission gets under way, and the plane moves into the area, “the heat gets really hot sometimes,” the official said, as both sides protest loudly and dismiss the other’s assertions.

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 Islamic State activity. The official said the Russian An-30 was gathering intelligence on the base.

The United States had no combat aircraft in the area and took no direct action against the Russian flight.

(AP)