At least a dozen US F-22 stealth fighters land in Israel amid rising Iran tensions: Reports

At least a dozen United States Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets have landed in southern Israel amid escalating tensions with Iran, according to a report on Wednesday in The Times of Israel. The fifth-generation aircraft, among the most advanced in the US arsenal, are part of a major American military build-up in the Middle East.

The fighters were tracked departing from RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom before arriving at an Israeli Air Force base in the south of the country. The jets flew with their transponders switched off but were accompanied by refuelling tankers with their transponders active.

The deployment comes as indirect nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran continue, with a third round of talks scheduled in Geneva later this week. Israeli authorities view the arrival of US stealth fighters as highly significant, reflecting closer military coordination with Washington amid concerns over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

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Dozens of fighter jets -- including F-35s, F-22s, F-15s, and F-16s -- have been spotted heading to the Middle East in recent days by the Military Air Tracking Alliance, a team of about 30 open-source analysts that routinely analyzes military and government flight activity, the Israeli daily said.

US President Donald 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.

"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.

"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.

He spoke of the "Operation Midnight Hammer," the US airstrikes last year against Iran's nuclear strikes during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

"After Midnight Hammer, they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program--yet they continue, and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions," TRump said.

The US President said, Iran wants to make a deal to avoid further US strikes, but has yet to commit to never making a nuclear weapon.