United States Central Command confirmed on X that an unspecified number of F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets have arrived in its ‘area of responsibility’—which includes over 4 million square miles and 21 countries in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and Northeast Africa.

“U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility Aug. 8 as part of U.S. force posture changes in the region to mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or its proxies,” US CENTCOM said.

We reported earlier that as many as 12 F-22s arrived in the Middle East today (see the reporting below)…

Unconfirmed, but some X users that identified as “OSINT”—or open-source intelligence—pointed out some of stealth fighters landed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Some geopolitical observers anticipate retaliation by Iran (or Iranian proxy groups), possibly including a direct assault on Israel. This suggests the Middle East is on the brink of a broader conflict that could escalate into a regional war