US Deploys F-35 Fighter Jets to Deter Iran’s Provocations

Photo released by the US army on the arrival of F35 fighter jets to the Gulf region on Thursday.
Photo released by the US army on the arrival of F35 fighter jets to the Gulf region on Thursday.
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US Deploys F-35 Fighter Jets to Deter Iran’s Provocations

Photo released by the US army on the arrival of F35 fighter jets to the Gulf region on Thursday.
Photo released by the US army on the arrival of F35 fighter jets to the Gulf region on Thursday.

A dozen US Air Force F-35 Lightning IIs have arrived in the Middle East to beef up US Central Command’s airpower in the region and deter Iran and Russia from carrying out provocative actions.

Meanwhile, there were new leaks in Washington about the suspension of the United States Special Representative for Iran, Robert Malley, following reports about him leaking information about a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

“In coordination with our regional allies, partners, and the US Navy, the F-35s will partner with A-10 and F-16s already in theater helping monitor the Strait of Hormuz,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) spokesman Col. Mike Andrews said in a statement.

“The F-35’s increased capacity and capability will allow the US to fly in contested airspace across the theater if required.”

The stealthy multirole F-35 fighters deployed come from the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron of Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The accurate locations for deployment weren’t determined.

The US Navy said earlier that Iran attempted to seize two commercial oil tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. Both incidents occurred in international waters.

In two incidents on July 23 and 26 in Syria, Russian warplanes released flares that damaged two US drones.

The Pentagon announced on July 17 that it was sending additional F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, along with a warship to the Middle East, in a bid to monitor key waterways in the region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels in recent months.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said: “We continue to be in communication with Congress and be in communication about their requests for additional information and briefings on this matter, including correspondence with the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We anticipate that we’ll be providing them additional briefings shortly.”

Before these statements, The Washington Free Beacon reported that “Malley may have leaked classified information” to a network of pro-Tehran advocates and deal supporters in the US known as the "echo chamber."

In mid-May, a group of senators began quietly asking questions after Malley was a no-show at a classified briefing on negotiations surrounding a revamped Iran nuclear deal.

As the top diplomat involved in talks with Tehran, Malley’s failure to appear before Congress drew questions from lawmakers and senior staffers. At the time, Biden administration officials told lawmakers that Malley was on extended personal leave, sources say.

Just a month later, it became clear that Malley was the subject of an investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified information, a charge so serious that the probe was later handed off from the State Department office responsible for diplomatic security to the FBI.

The Tehran Times, in its July report, stated that Malley “is routinely in contact with a slew of Iranian-regime advocates” and that “these allies act as middlemen for negotiations with the Iranian government”.

The Tehran Times added that Malley engaged in "suspicious interactions with unofficial advisors of Iranian descent," and that his security clearance was initially pulled in late April.

"A large part of Malley’s work was to circulate information throughout the US-based Iranian diaspora that eventually found its way to Tehran," veteran national security analyst Lee Smith wrote this week in an article for Tablet Magazine.

"The fact that the details about Malley’s suspension are coming from Iranian rather than US media is a big clue that something big is missing from the White House’s highly minimized account."



Major Search Continues after Deadly Migrant Boat Sinking Off Cyprus Coast

Handout obtained from Cypriot government’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre shows migrant boat in Mediterranen waters east of Cape Greco in southeastern Cyprus ahead of a rescue operation. (File/AFP)
Handout obtained from Cypriot government’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre shows migrant boat in Mediterranen waters east of Cape Greco in southeastern Cyprus ahead of a rescue operation. (File/AFP)
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Major Search Continues after Deadly Migrant Boat Sinking Off Cyprus Coast

Handout obtained from Cypriot government’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre shows migrant boat in Mediterranen waters east of Cape Greco in southeastern Cyprus ahead of a rescue operation. (File/AFP)
Handout obtained from Cypriot government’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre shows migrant boat in Mediterranen waters east of Cape Greco in southeastern Cyprus ahead of a rescue operation. (File/AFP)

A major rescue operation continued Tuesday off the southern coast of Cyprus after a migrant boat sank in international waters, with no additional survivors or bodies found since the initial recovery, official said.

Authorities Monday said seven bodies had been recovered and two people rescued some 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of Cyprus. Officials said the boat was believed to be carrying at least 20 Syrians, The Associated Press reported.

The island republic's Joint Rescue Coordination Center confirmed an ongoing operation involving military helicopters, rescue vessels and drones, assisted by a helicopter from a British base on Cyprus.

“As time passes and no other people are found, hope naturally and dramatically diminishes,” Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas told a press briefing late Monday.

The rescue effort is taking place amid rising irregular border crossings in the eastern Mediterranean, according to the European Union border protection agency Frontex, despite a broader decline across the bloc.

Cypriot officials said they continue to monitor increased maritime movement from Lebanon and Syria amid ongoing regional instability.

Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis said the first survivor had been spotted during a routine patrol. After that, he said, “the response was immediate, which is why we managed to save the second person very quickly.”