Pentagon: No ‘Drop’ in Iran Threat to Ships, As F-35s and Harriers Keep Flying over the Gulf
Aug. 31, 2023 | By Chris Gordon
More than a month after the Pentagon announced it was sending Air Force F-35s, thousands of U.S. Marines and Sailors, and American warships to the Arabian Gulf region in response to Iran’s attempted seizures of commercial vessels, officials say they see no signs the situation is calming down.
“We continue to see harassment,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Aug. 29. “We have not seen that threat drop, I would say, so we haven’t seen a reason to move our forces out.”
In July, the U.S. dispatched some of its most advanced airpower into the region with a squadron of F-35s to respond to Iranian actions in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point between the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply flows.
“In an ongoing effort to ensure the security and freedom of navigation in the region, U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) reaffirms its unwavering commitment to maintaining stability and safeguarding global trade in this vital maritime route,” the command said after one recent F-35 mission over the Gulf.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/pentagon-iran-gulf-threat-ships-f-35s-harriers/
