US sends F-16 fighters to Persian Gulf to fend off Iranian ship seizures

The US is sending F-16 fighter jets to the Persian Gulf region to help protect ships from Iranian seizures in the Strait of Hormuz.

The F-16 fighters were expected to arrive in the region over the weekend to augment A-10 attack aircraft that have been patrolling the Strait of Hormuz to deter Iranian ship seizures for more than a week, Fox News reports, citing the Associated Press.

The move comes a little more than a week after Iran attempted to seize two oil tankers near the strait, according to the US Navy, opening fire on one of the tankers and only retreating when a US-guided missile destroyer arrived on the scene.

"The Iranian navy did make attempts to seize commercial tankers lawfully transiting international waters," said Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

"The US Navy responded immediately and prevented those seizures."

According to the Navy, an Iranian naval vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged TRF Moss in the Gulf of Oman on July 12, prompting the Navy to deploy the destroyer USS McFaul, a MQ-9 Reaper drone and a P-8 Poseidon patrol plane to the scene, deterring the Iranian naval vessel.

Just three hours later, the Navy received a distress call from the Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager off the coast of Oman, where an Iranian naval vessel had closed to within a mile of the tanker and ordered it to stop. The US Navy sent the USS McFaul to assist the tanker at "maximum speed," the Navy said.