Exclusive-US moving fighter jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran war rages

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering U.S. military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three U.S. officials said.

One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.

Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)