Tel Aviv: In parallel to its efforts to stop the Iranian nuclear program, the US is making preparations to attack this country’s nuclear sites.
According to a report in Iran International, the website operated from London by the opposition to the regime in Tehran, the US military has deployed long range bombers at a strategic Indian Ocean airbase. This happens in parallel to continued attacks on the Houthi rebel sites in Yemen.
“B-2 Spirit bombers have arrived at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia,” a US Strategic Command spokesperson told the website, referring to the strategic British territory. The military grouping and its units “routinely conduct global operations … to deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat strategic attacks against the United States and its allies,” the spokesperson added, saying it does not comment on specific actions.
US President Donald Trump has demanded Tehran come to a deal over its nuclear program or face a military intervention and warned any attack by the Houthis would be treated as emanating from Iran.
A joint UK-US military base at Diego Garcia has previously been used to launch US strikes on the Middle East including Iraq and Afghanistan, with the deployment suggesting the potential for large-scale air operations in the region.
According to the website, the US military deployed the B-2 stealth bombers along with C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refueling tankers in the last two days, defence industry outlet The War Zone reported on Wednesday, March 26 citing satellite imagery.
Flight tracking data and satellite imagery analysed by open-source intelligence analysts suggest the arrival or transit of at least five B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, capable of carrying the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) – a 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb and the 20,000-pound Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) or “Mother of All Bombs.”
C-17 cargo planes are capable of transporting personnel, equipment and munitions while the refueling tankers enable sustained long-range air operations.
In October, the United States used B-2 stealth bombers for strikes on Houthi underground weapons facilities in Yemen for the first time.
The report of the deployment came hours after Iran unveiled what it termed a new missile city, run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian state media reported the display of various domestically produced missiles, including long-range ballistic types, with Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri vowing enhanced missile capabilities in the future.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
