The military on Tuesday confirmed that the Israeli Air Force has decided to pull its fleet of F-15 fighter jets from an international exercise scheduled to take place in the United States next month.
An IDF official said the decision stemmed from the rising tensions between Syria, Iran and Israel, aggravated over last week's strike on the T4 air base in Homs, where an Iranian drone unit was destroyed.
The F-15s will remain in Israel in case they are needed to ward off an Iranian retaliation attempt, the official said.
The Israeli jets were due to participate in "Red Flag," an international military drill set to take place in Alaska, where they were to train with U.S. and other warplanes.
"Red Flag," the biggest aerial exercise in the world, is held up to four times a year. The 10-day drill includes unique air maneuvers, training pilots to operate in harsh weather conditions, including snow and ice storms, and features air-to-air and surface-to-air combat scenarios.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that other IAF aircraft, such as cargo planes and refueling tankers, would take place in the international drill as planned.
"Israel's first participation in the Red Flag exercise in Alaska will take place as planned in May. In light of security assessments, the IAF has decided to tailor the participation of its planes," the military said in a statement.
Israel on Tuesday revealed new information about the deployment of Iranian air defenses in Syria, further exposing Tehran's attempts to entrench itself militarily in the war-torn country.
Israel maintains that it will not allow Iranian military presence on its northern borders.
