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罢丑别听United States聽still plans to go through with the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt聽in the coming weeks, U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Wednesday, even after the聽Egyptian military's ouster of President Mohamed Mursi.

The disclosure came as Washington treads a careful line, neither welcoming Mursi's removal nor denouncing it as a "coup," saying it needs time to weigh the situation.

A U.S. decision to brand his overthrow a coup would, by U.S. law, require Washington to halt aid to the聽Egyptian military, which receives the lion's share of the $1.5 billion in annual U.S. assistance to that country.

The jets, which will likely be delivered in August and are built by Lockheed Martin Corp, are part of the annual aid package, a U.S. defense official said.

"There is no current change in the plan to deliver聽F-16s聽to the聽Egyptian military," a second U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Asked about the聽F-16s,聽White House聽spokesman聽Jay Carney聽said: "It's our view that we should not ... hastily change our aid programs." He directed specific questions about the jets to the Defense Department.

罢丑别听Pentagon, responding to queries by reporters, later issued a statement echoing President聽Barack Obama's July 3 comments that he had ordered a review of U.S. assistance to Egypt. Asked whether Obama's review had put the F-16 delivery on hold, one of the U.S. officials told Reuters: "The delivery remains scheduled as planned."

Lockheed Martin, the聽Pentagon's biggest supplier, declined comment on the issue.

Egypt has been one of the world's largest recipients of U.S. aid since it signed a 1979 peace treaty with聽Israel.

It was the first Arab country to buy聽F-16s, widely viewed as a symbol of political and security ties with Washington. U.S.-Egyptian co-production of the M1A1 Abrams battle tank has also been a key part of U.S. assistance.

In a sign of how important U.S. aid is to Washington's ties with Egypt,聽Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood聽warned last year before taking power that Egypt聽might review its peace deal with聽Israel聽if the聽United States聽cut aid.

For fiscal year 2013, which ends in September, the United States has already disbursed $650 million in military aid to Egypt. Another $585 million is pending, the first U.S. official said.

Another eight聽F-16s聽are due to be delivered in December, the first U.S. defense official said. The jets are part of a package of 20聽F-16s, of which eight have already been delivered.

U.S. Defense Secretary聽Chuck Hagel聽has spoken by phone with the head of Egypt's armed forces, General聽Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, eight times since July 2. The last conversation was on Tuesday.

罢丑别听Pentagon聽has offered few details about those talks, which nevertheless show how intensive contacts between the two have been following Mursi's July 3 overthrow.

Anti-American sentiment

Still, both sides of Egypt's divide have become fiercely anti-American. Mursi's opponents say the聽Obama administration聽supported the Brotherhood in power, while Mursi's supporters believe Washington was behind the plot to unseat him.

To Islamists, Obama's refusal so far to label the military takeover a "coup" has stoked accusations that he is a hypocrite in promoting democracy.

For its part, the聽White House聽said on Wednesday it would take time to determine whether Mursi's ouster was a coup. It has previously pointed out that millions of Egyptians had wanted a change in government.

"We are evaluating how the authorities are responding to and handling the current situation," Carney said.

罢丑别听Obama administration聽tried to show that it is not taking sides in Egypt. It has also been at pains to explain why it has not called for the restoration of Mursi, or even to say whether or not he should be allowed to take part in any new elections that may be held.

State Department spokeswoman聽Jen Psaki聽said she did not know where Mursi was being held but voiced concern about his welfare.

"罢丑别听United States聽has conveyed strongly and clearly to the聽Egyptian military聽that the treatment of anyone ... who was arbitrarily arrested, whether it's President Mursi or other members of the聽Muslim Brotherhood聽... is important to the United States," Psaki told reporters.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Laura MacInnis, Roberta Rampton; Steve Holland and Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Beech)