US deploys F-16s to Hormuz Strait, will not cede territories in Syria

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Jul 2023 09:48
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The United States claims that the fighter jets will be tasked with protecting vessels in the area from Iranian forces.

US soldiers walk while on patrol by the Suwaydiyah oil fields in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on February 13, 2021 (AFP)

The United States is intensifying its deployment of fighter jets in the strategic Strait of Hormuz to safeguard its vessels against potential, alleged seizures by Iran, AP reported citing a senior defense official.

The official also expressed mounting concerns in Washington about the deepening connections between Iran, Russia, and Syria across the Middle East region.

As per the official's statement in a press briefing, the United States plans to dispatch F-16 fighter jets to the region over the upcoming weekend in order to reinforce the A-10 attack aircraft that have been conducting patrols in the area for over a week.

According to the anonymous defense source, the F-16s will provide aerial protection to the ships cruising through the waterway, significantly bolstering the US military's presence and visibility in the area.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon issued a statement claiming that US forces prevented two separate attempts by Iran's Navy to seize two commercial oil tankers in international waters off the coast of Oman, alleging that in one of these attempts, the Iranian forces opened fire toward the tanker.

An Iranian military source later denied the allegations made by Washington.

US CENTCOM claimed that during the alleged attempts to seize the tankers, Iranian vessels retreated after the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, advanced to the scene.

US will not cede occupied territory in Syria

The United States is currently evaluating a range of military options to tackle tensions with Russia in the skies over Syria, the defense official told reporters, claiming that actions of the Russian air force are creating challenges to US operations allegedly targeting ISIS groups.

But the official stressed that the US will not give up any occupied territory in Syria and will continue to operate in the country's western skies.

The official said that Moscow, Tehran, and Damascus are increasing cooperation to end US presence in Syria, claiming that Iran agreed with Russia to support its efforts in Ukraine in exchange for ending American illegal bases in Syria.

About 1,000 American occupation soldiers are deployed in Syria under the guise of fighting ISIS, though those were defeated in Syria in 2019 but still maintain hideouts in remote desert areas.

Using this pretext, the United States is plundering Syria's resources, most notably oil. Syrian news agencies repeatedly report incidents of US forces looting new batches of Syrian oil and smuggling them to their occupation bases in Iraq.

Last month, Oleg Gurinov, the deputy head of the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said the US-led international coalition continues to commit gross violations of deconfliction protocols and of the Air Safety Memorandum in Syria.

He said drones of the so-called US-led international counterterrorism coalition in Syria violated flight safety rules 315 times during the month of June.

Also last week, the Russian military official said the United States is carrying out "systematic violations of protocols” implemented to avoid clashes between the two militaries after drones belonging to the US-led international coalition violated nine times closed airspace during Russian-Syrian joint exercises.

It is noteworthy that in August 2022, the Syrian Oil Ministry revealed that the US occupation forces loot the majority of Syria's oil, knowing that the daily production of the eastern oil fields is 80.3 thousand barrels.

In December of 2022, Syria's Foreign Ministry said the US occupation forces and their affiliated military groups' systematic lootings of Syrian oil, wheat, and other national resources have amounted to direct losses valued at $25.9 billion and indirect losses valued at over $86 billion.

The Ministry then demanded the UN to once again adopt urgent steps to cease the violation of international law by the US and its allies and ensure compensation for these violations.