The United States has quietly increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf to deter Tehran from attempting to shut the Strait of Hormuz, according to a New York Times report published Tuesday.
Linking the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean, the Strait is used to transport about a fifth of the world’s oil on a daily basis, and the popular assessment within the IDF is that Iran – which borders the channel to the north and east – has the ability to shut it down if it so chooses.
Citing a senior administration official, the report stated that the deployment of a number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iranian territory was partly done to reassure Israel that the US is taking the Iranian threat seriously. "When the president says there are other options on the table beyond negotiations, he means it," the report quoted the official as saying.
The report identified a number of visible elements of the US buildup in the Gulf, including sending increasing numbers of aircraft, including the F-22 Raptor, which boasts stealth capabilities, into two separate bases in the Persian Gulf. The planes join jets and carrier strike groups already in the area.
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