US Flies B-52 Bombers to the Middle East For Third Time This Month

 

The frequent maneuvers stepped up in November after a report said Trump considered bombing Iran

Dave DeCamp 

Posted onJanuary 27, 2021CategoriesNewsTagsBiden, Iran, Trump

For the third time this month, and the sixth time since the end of November, the US flew a B-52 bomber to the Middle East in a provocative maneuver aimed at Iran.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the flight on Wednesday and said the bomber was joined by F-15s from Saudi Arabia’s air force while in the Middle East.

Previous flights have involved more than one B-52, but CENTCOM said just one bomber flew to the region this time. The bomber flew out of Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

The frequent B-52 missions started after a November report from The New York Times said then-President Trump reviewed options to attack Iran. The flights escalated tensions in the region and were part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that ramped up in the final days of Trump’s presidency.

While on the campaign trail, President Biden said he would return to diplomacy with Iran and revive the 2015 nuclear deal. But so far, Iran is still under crippling sanctions, and the US continues to stoke tensions by sending long-range bombers near Iran’s coast.

https://news.antiwar.com/2021/01/27/us-flies-b-52-bombers-to-the-middle-east-for-third-time-this-month/