WASHINGTON — A detachment of F-22 Raptors, the US Air Force’s top-tier stealth fighter jets, arrived in Israel late on Tuesday as the Pentagon continued its buildup of military forces in the region ahead of a potential confrontation with Iran. 

Several F-22s departed RAF Lakenheath in England earlier Tuesday, as local observers documented in videos published on social media. A group of USAF KC-46 and KC-135 refueling tankers also departed England from RAF Mildenhall Tuesday, heading toward the Middle East, according to open-source trackers.

Why it matters: The Pentagon is putting the finishing touches on its largest strike force assembled in the Middle East in two decades, signaled by the arrival of F-22s. The stealth fighters' departure from England came after several days' delay, albeit for unclear reasons. 

The US Air Force deployed F-22s to the region last June ahead of strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan. The F-22s penetrated Iranian airspace undetected to divert any Iranian aircraft or anti-aircraft assets and pave the way for B-2 stealth bombers during Operation Midnight Hammer, Pentagon officials later said.