In Historic First, US Deploys Stealth Fighters In Israel Amid Iran Tensions

The US has already gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East as a war looms over Iran. However, for the first time, the US has deployed combat aircraft to Israel for a potential war mission, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The F-22 Raptors deployed to Israeli air bases will help the US in defending Israeli territory and American troops from Iran's retaliation.

"Operating aircraft from Israeli bases is a first," said Dennis Ross, a former senior US official, to The Wall Street Journal.

Why Has The US Deployed The Jets In Israel?

The deployment of the combat aircraft comes in the backdrop of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates refusing to allow any forces to use their airspace. This has limited US options for basing their aircraft needed for a major operation.

A F 22 Raptor fighter jet takes part in the NATO Air Shielding exercise near the air base in Lask, central Poland on October 12, 2022
Photo Credit: AFP

Elliott Abrams, former special envoy for Iran during the first Trump administration, told the publication that the deployment "is the product of two developments: the growing cooperation between the United States and Israel, and the refusal of so many countries to allow the US to use their bases."

He added, "I have to wonder if, over time, Americans will wonder why we have bases in countries that don't cooperate when we ask."

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The stealth fighters were spotted taking off from the Lakenheath airbase in the United Kingdom on the morning of February 24 before they flew to Israel, the Israeli daily said, citing open-source flight tracking data and aircraft spotters.

A United States Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet participates in an aerial display during a media preview ahead of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore on February 9, 2020
Photo Credit: AFP

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.

For decades, Washington deliberately kept its military footprint in Israel limited, wary that permanently stationing offensive aircraft could inflame regional tensions. Israel was therefore placed under the US European Command to manage diplomatic sensitivities in the Middle East.

That calculus shifted after the Abraham Accords. In 2021, Israel was reassigned to US Central Command, a change that quietly removed long-standing operational barriers and opened the door to far closer US-Israeli military integration.

US-Iran Talks Over Tehran's Nuclear Programme

Amid talks ongoing between the US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme, US President 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.

US special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrives to his hotel during new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear programme, in Geneva on February 26, 2026
Photo Credit: AFP

"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.

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"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.

Iran's foreign ministry says delegates from the country and the United States have exchanged "very constructive" proposals so far in their third round of nuclear talks in Geneva.