A pair of US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers flew a patrol mission across the Middle East on March 7, in wake of increased tension between Iran and the US.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the aim of the mission was “to deter aggression and reassure partners and allies of the US military’s commitment to security in the region.”
It is worth pointing out that multiple partner nations accompanied the US bombers at different points during the flight, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The bombers flew out of the Minot Air Force Base for the mission, flight tracker data showed.
The mission comes just two days after US president Joe Biden extended the national emergency and the sanctions imposed on Iran in 1995 for another year. In late February, Iran rejected an invitation for discussion on a possible return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
The deployment also followed a mysterious explosion on an Israeli ship hit by a mysterious explosion in the Middle East. Israel blamed Tehran for the alleged attack.
CENTCOM said this was the fourth bomber deployment into the Middle East this year. Temporary long-range bomber deployments into the region date back to 2015.
