Al-Udeid Air Base, QATAR – The Pentagon sent a B-52 bomber to the Persian Gulf region on Tuesday, the sixth such departure since last fall, in a demonstration of discouragement against Iran.
B-52H Stratofortress, a long-range bomber, flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on Tuesday and was expected to fly continuously in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the east coast of Saudi Arabia, near the UAE. United Arab Emirates and Qatar, before returning to the United States, said a senior military official.
“Our intention is to maintain this lasting defensive position, to discourage any aggression in the region, to promote regional security and to secure our allies,” the high-ranking military official said.
The United States has been on guard for the past two months and has been concerned about the threat posed by Iran, especially ahead of the January 20 presidential inauguration, several officials said.
U.S. officials have blamed Iran-backed militias for repeated rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Iraq last year, such as one last month that caused minor damage to the embassy complex in the fortified green area of Baghdad. Washington has condemned regular cross-border missile and drone strikes by Houthi rebels lined up in Iran in Yemen against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia.
The United States maintained an aircraft carrier in the region, maintained other military capabilities, and military commanders were on high alert, officials said. This resulted from the consensus of intelligence analysts who intercepted messages indicating Tehran or its envoys in the region intended to avenge the death of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the elite body of the Islamic Revolutionary Police in Iran, who was killed by an American drone strike. in Iraq in January 2020.
Officials also feared that Tehran could try to take advantage of the chaotic transition of the Washington government, possibly by attacking allies or striking US troops in Iraq.
No attack has come on US assets and the immediate threat from Iran has calmed down somewhat, high-ranking military officials said, but the Pentagon remains vigilant.
On Saturday, the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was attacked with armed drones or missiles for the first time in seven months. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it had intercepted the projectiles, but two people familiar with the matter said a major royal complex had suffered minor damage.
As the Biden administration vowed to re-evaluate the US relationship with Saudi Arabia and end support for Riyadh’s war effort in Yemen, Washington quickly condemned the attack and reiterated its commitment to defending the kingdom.
The coalition blamed the attack on Houthi, who denied responsibility, and the US also suggested it was to blame. A previously unknown group called the “Promise Brigades”, which claims to be based in Iraq, distributed a statement on the Telegram claiming to target Yamama Palace and other sites in Riyadh in retaliation for alleged Saudi support granted to the Islamic State.
Regardless of who was behind the attack, the incident is a sign that, despite several years of maximum pressure from the Trump administration against Iran, Tehran has not significantly reduced its support for Allied militias in the Middle East.
Houthi rebels, as well as a host of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias – which the US accuses Iran of supporting weapons, money and training – have continued to threaten and occasionally attack the interests of Washington and its allies.
The recent attack on Riyadh is also likely an attempt by Iran to test how Mr Biden – who has signaled a more conciliatory approach to Tehran than Mr Trump – in his early days responds to threats against the Allies. The US Gulf, said Phillip Smyth, an expert on Iranian-backed militias at the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy.
Residents of Riyadh reported on Tuesday what appeared to be a second attack and a defensive response by a Patriot ground-to-air interceptor missile system in the capital’s diplomatic district, which is adjacent to Yamama Palace. More details about the incident remain unclear, with no public comment from the Saudi coalition or the Houthis more than 24 hours later.
U.S. military officials declined to comment on Tuesday’s incident.
B-52 flights have become a common practice in the region. The flight was the sixth such maneuver in November – and the third this month – with more planned for this spring, military officials said. Tuesday’s flight was scheduled a few weeks ago and was not triggered by any particular event, officials said.
The senior official said such flights are intended to discourage Iran and reassure allies in the region, thus maintaining security as the Biden administration decides to adopt a new policy for the country, the official said.
President Joe Biden has said he intends for the United States to reintroduce the Iranian nuclear deal, which he helped establish under the Obama administration in 2015. Gerald F. Seib of the WSJ explains why this will not be as simple as it seems. Photo: Abedin Taherkenareh / Shutterstock (Originally published on November 16, 2020)
President Biden has expressed a desire to return to the 2015 nuclear deal from which President Trump fired the United States in May 2018. Beyond that, the Biden White House has not released any additional plans for Iran.
“We know that US policy is evolving with regard to Iran right now, and the new administration will make some decisions in the future and I have no special perspective on what those decisions will be,” the senior official said. . “But if we continue to discourage Iranian aggression. it will give policy makers more decision-making space as they set policy. ”
Dating back to the beginning of the Cold War, the B-52 is a long-range bomber that the US military uses for a variety of missions. It can fly at high subsonic speeds at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet, travel 8,800 miles without refueling and transporting various types of precision-guided ammunition, according to the military.
The B-52 flew as part of a bomber action group, accompanied by F-15 and F-16 fighter jets and KC-10 and KC-135 tanks. Some of the planes were flown by Allied crews, including from Jordan, officials said.
—Sune Engel Rasmussen contributed to this article.
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