This archive report was first published on 29 June 2019.
Published on June 29, 2019, the US has deployed F-22 stealth fighters to Qatar for the first time, its military said, adding to a buildup of US forces in the Gulf amid tensions with Iran.
The deployment is part of a broader effort to defend American forces and interests in the region, according to the US Air Forces Central Military Command.
A photo handout showed five of the jets flying above the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
The move comes as tensions between the US and Iran continue to escalate, with the two countries locked in a war of words over Iran's nuclear program and the US's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran has threatened to abandon some of its commitments under the nuclear deal unless the remaining partners - Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia - help it circumvent US sanctions and especially sell its oil.
