DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A pair of B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on Sunday, the latest mission in the region aimed at warning Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The flight by the two heavy bombers came when a pro-Iran satellite channel, based in Beirut, broadcast Iranian military drones from an Israeli ship that had been hit only days before in the Middle East. While the channel wanted to say that Iran was not involved in it, Israel blamed Tehran for what he described as an attack on the vessel.
The U.S. military’s central command said the two B-52s flew over the region accompanied by military planes from countries such as Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It was the fourth explosion of the bomber in the Middle East this year and the second under President Joe Biden.
Flight detection data showed that the two B-52s flew from Minot Air Base in North Dakota, something the central command did not mention in its statement on the flights, although authorities later released images of the flight crew to prepare the departure there.
The military did not directly mention Iran in its statement, saying the flight was “to deter aggression and reassure partners and allies of the U.S. military’s commitment to security in the region.”
However, such flights have become commonplace in the last months of former President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump’s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers has sparked a series of escalating incidents in the region.
Biden has expressed a desire to return to the agreement if Iran respects the limits of the agreement on its nuclear program. However, tensions remain high after militias in Iraq – likely backed by Iran – continue to target US interests.
Biden in retaliation last month launched an airstrike just across the border into Syria, joining every U.S. president from Ronald Reagan who ordered a bombing raid on Middle Eastern countries.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Beirut-based channel Al-Mayadeen broadcast footage of the Helios Ray, a cargo ship hit by the February 26 explosion in the Gulf of Oman, which was hit by the Bahamian flag.
The grain material included areas that were blurred on the video, probably coordinates and other information displayed by the Iranian military drone. The footage showed at one point what appeared to be a hole in the side of the vessel.
Al-Mayadeen did not say when the recordings were fired, nor did he explain the circumstances in which the Iranian drone followed the ship. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, which patrols the Middle East and often has strained encounters with Iran, declined to comment on the footage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for the blasts, something Tehran denies. However, the Gulf of Oman saw a series of similar attacks in 2019 that blamed the US Navy on Iran.