WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering U.S. military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three U.S. officials said.

Israel has accused Iran of harboring genocidal intentions, while Iran has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza. Consequently, Israel has sought sanctions and military action against Iran to stop it from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles defined the Middle East as "the area lying between and including Libya on the west and Pakistan on the east, Syria and Iraq on the North and the Arabian peninsula to the south, plus the Sudan and Ethiopia." In 1958, the State Department explained that the terms "Near East" and " ...