U.S. B-52 bombers reach Middle East in message to Iran

The US said on Tuesday that a number of B-52 bombers would be part of additional forces sent to the Middle East to counter what the Trump administration calls "clear indications" of threats from Iran

By REUTERS
A B-52H-175-BW(61-0036) Stratofortress taking off from Tinker Air Force Base, in 2014 (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
A B-52H-175-BW(61-0036) Stratofortress taking off from Tinker Air Force Base, in 2014
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
DOHA - American B-52 Stratofortress bombers sent to the Middle East over what Washington describes as threats from Iran have arrived at a U.S. base in Qatar, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The US military said on Tuesday that a number of B-52 bombers would be part of additional forces being sent to the Middle East to counter what the Trump administration says are "clear indications" of threats from Iran to U.S. forces there.
Iran has dismissed the new US deployments, including of an aircraft carrier, as old news announced now to intimidate it through "psychological warfare," at a time when Washington is also tightening financial sanctions. The USS Abraham Lincoln is replacing another carrier rotated out of the Gulf last month.
A deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that Tehran will not hold talks with its arch enemy the United States and that Washington "will not dare launch military action against us," the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Iran's leadership to sit down and talk with him about giving up Tehran's nuclear program and said he could not rule out a military confrontation given the heightened tensions between the two countries.
"No talks will be held with the Americans and the Americans will not dare take military action against us," Yadollah Javani, the Guards' deputy head for political affairs, was quoted as saying by Tasnim. "Our nation... sees America as unreliable."
A picture taken by US Air Force personnel stationed in Al Udaid air base and posted on the CENTCOM website showed two aircraft. The caption said: "B-52 Arrival. US B-52H Stratofortress aircraft assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron are parked on a flight line May 8, 2019."
The media officer at Al Udaid, near Doha, did not immediately respond to a phone call and email requesting comment and details. CENTCOM is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran this month, eliminating waivers that had allowed some countries to buy its oil, with a goal of reducing Tehran's crude exports to zero. Iran has responded by scaling back some curbs on its nuclear program, although it remains compliant with a deal to restrict its nuclear activity which Washington abandoned a year ago.


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