DUBAI, UAE – A pair of B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Sunday, the latest such mission in the region to warn Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The flight of the two heavy bombers came as a pro-Iran satellite channel based in Beirut broadcast footage with Iranian military drones of an Israeli ship hit by a mysterious explosion just a few days earlier in the Middle East. While the channel tried to say that Iran was not involved, Israel blamed Tehran for what it described as an attack on the ship.
The US military headquarters said the two B-52s flew over the region accompanied by military planes from countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It marked the fourth deployment of the bomber in the Middle East this year and the second under the leadership of President Joe Biden.
Flight tracking data showed the two B-52s flew from North Dakota’s Minot Air Force Base, something Central Command did not mention in its flight statement, although authorities later released images of the flight crew preparing. going there.
The military did not directly mention Iran in its statement, saying the flight was “discouraging aggression and reassuring partners and allies of the US military’s commitment to security in the region.”
However, such flights had become commonplace in recent months under the administration of former President Donald Trump. Trump’s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers has sparked a series of incidents in the region.
Biden expressed a desire to return to the agreement if Iran honors the limits of the agreement on its nuclear program. However, tensions remain high as Iraqi militias – likely backed by Iran – continue to target American interests.
Last month, Biden launched an air strike right across the border with Syria in repression, joining every US president since Ronald Reagan, who ordered the bombing of Middle Eastern countries.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Beirut canal, Al-Mayadeen, broadcast footage of Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged rolling cargo ship hit by explosions on February 26 in the Gulf of Oman.
The grainy footage included blurry areas on the video, probable coordinates and other information displayed by the Iranian military drone. Filming at one point showed what appeared to be a hole in the side of the ship.
Al-Mayadeen did not say when the film was shot, nor did he explain the circumstance in which the Iranian drone was watching the ship. The US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fleet 5, which patrols the Middle East and often has tense encounters with Iran, declined to comment on the footage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for the blasts, which Tehran has denied. However, the Gulf of Oman has seen a series of similar attacks in 2019 that the US Navy has blamed on Iran.