The United States will go through with the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt in the coming weeks, U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday as Washington deliberated whether to call the ouster of Egypt�s elected leader a military coup.

A decision to call last week�s overthrow of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi a coup would, by law, require the Obama administration to halt aid to the Egyptian army.

Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. aid behind Israel, receiving $1.5 billion a year. The jets were part of that aid package, a U.S. defense official confirmed.

One defense official said the delivery of the four F-16s was likely to take place in August.

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

Islamists who back Mursi, Egypt�s first freely elected president, blame the United States for allowing what they call a military coup. The country�s military and interim political leaders say Mursi�s Muslim Brotherhood incited violence when Egyptians took to the streets to protest the president�s policies.

The White House also pointed out that millions of Egyptians had wanted a change in government and said it would wait before deciding how to describe Mursi�s ouster.

�We are evaluating how the authorities are responding to and handling the current situation,� White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Wednesday.

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

Another eight F-16s were due to be delivered in December.

(Reuters)