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Around a dozen US Air Force F-22 fighters have landed in Israel, according to a report on Wednesday in The Times of Israel. This comes amidst heightened tensions between the US and Iran that could potentially erupt in a war and amid an ongoing build-up of American military assets in West Asia,
The stealth fighters were spotted taking off from the Lakenheath airbase in the United Kingdom on February 24 morning before they flew to Israel, the Israeli daily said citing open-source flight tracking data and aircraft spotters American news outlets also reported that a US official has confirmed that the fifth-generation aircraft landed at an Israeli air force airbase in South Israel. The fighters flew with their transponders deactivated but were accompanied by refueling tankers with their transponders on, ABC said. Negotiations between US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program are ongoing, and the sides are due to meet on Thursday in Geneva for a third round of talks. Israeli officials are said to believe that a US strike is inevitable, and top military brass from the two countries have reportedly been in contact. One official quoted by Channel 12 news on Tuesday said that a diplomatic resolution to the conflict would be the "surprise of the year," as per The Times of Israel report . Dozens of fighter jets -- including F-35s, F-22s, F-15s, and F-16s -- have been spotted heading to the Middle East in recent days by the Military Air Tracking Alliance, a team of about 30 open-source analysts that routinely analyzes military and government flight activity, the Israeli daily said. US President Donald Trump in his address to the joint session of the US Congress on Tuesday night said that Iran is developing long-range missiles that can reach US territory. "They've already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America," Trump said during his first State of the Union address of his second term. "My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy--but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon," he told Congress. He spoke of the "Operation Midnight Hammer," the US airstrikes last year against Iran's nuclear strikes during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran. "After Midnight Hammer, they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program--yet they continue, and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions," TRump said. The US President said, Iran wants to make a deal to avoid further US strikes, but has yet to commit to never making a nuclear weapon. Ahead of TRujmp's address, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe briefed senior members of the House and Senate on Tuesday about the administration's military buildup against Iran. "Look. This is serious," Schumer said, "and the administration has to make its case to the American people," the NYT reported. (ANI)
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