The U.S. Is Sending More Warplanes to the Middle East, Officials Say

The United States was sending more warplanes to the Middle East, according to American officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Sunday, another sign the Trump administration may soon further escalate its strikes against Iran.

Air Force F-16 fighter jets from Germany and stealthy F-35 jets from Britain were being sent to the Middle East, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss operational matters. Additional aerial refueling aircraft were also on the way.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the region, declined to comment on the deployments.

The redeployment of the aircraft had already been ordered before an Iranian attack on Friday that killed two Army soldiers, left another U.S. service member missing, and injured many others in Jordan. That attack continued a weeklong pattern of strikes and counter-strikes, and prompted retaliation by the United States that the military said was in part to “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces.”

Even before those strikes, President Trump signaled that he planned to increase attacks on Iran in the coming week, and intended to hit more Iranian infrastructure, including bridges, electrical power plants and distribution systems.

It was not immediately clear where all the additional warplanes would be stationed, but an Israeli military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity on Saturday said the United States had decided to place some additional aerial refueling aircraft at Israeli Air Force bases.

Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.