US F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jets en route to Middle East ahead of possible Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel: report

The US has deployed at least a dozen F-15 Strike Eagles to the Middle East ahead of Iran’s looming retaliatory attack against Israel, according to a new report.

The two-man F-15 Strike Eagles are en route to Jordan, a key ally in the region, to join the rest of America’s jet fighters in the area aimed at maintaining stability, The Times of Israel reports.

The deployment comes as Israel’s Defense Ministry closed a $5.2 billion deal Wednesday to purchase 25 of its own F-15s with US military aid funds to bolster the Jewish state’s defenses.

The Boeing-produced fighter jets will be supplied in batches of four to six a year beginning in 2031, with the option open to purchase 25 more jets.

“The upgraded aircraft will feature enhanced range capabilities, increased payload capacity, and improved performance across various operational scenarios,” the ministry said in a statement.

Ido Nehushtan, the president of Boeing Israel, said the company would work hard with the US and Israeli governments to provide the F-15s.

Along with the F-15s, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued an order earlier this week deploying several B-52 heavy bomber aircraft, tanker aircraft and Navy destroyers.

The long-range, nuclear-capable B-52s have already been deployed in the past to try to quell conflicts in the Middle East, serving as a key warning from America to Iran. 

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said the forces will be in the Middle East in the coming months to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group, which would remove a massive air defense and airstrike capabilities from the region.

America has also deployed its advanced Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system to the Middle East.

The moves come as Tehran warned of a “strong and complex” response to Israel’s own retaliatory strike on Oct. 26, which killed four Iranian soldiers and decimated Tehran’s missile production sites and air defense systems.

Iranian and Arab officials familiar with the details said the attack would exceed Tehran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel, which bombarded the Jewish state with nearly 200 ballistic missiles, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Iran’s attack was allegedly being planned around the US presidential election, meaning the strike could commence in the coming days, the officials warned.