US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed early Sunday that US bombers had arrived in the Middle East as tensions rose over the possibility of Iran launching another attack on Israel.
US Central Command said, without elaborating, that B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Base arrived in the Middle East.
Pentagon officials previously said that long-range B-52 bombers, along with more destroyers and fighter squadrons and carriers, would be deployed to the region to deter Iran and its armed allies.
The moves come ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday, and as the entire Middle East teeters on the brink of being plunged into a broader regional conflict over ongoing conflicts between Israel and Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah in Gaza and Lebanon.
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US Central Command shared a photo of a B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber in a social media post confirming that the bombers arrived in the Middle East region early Sunday. (US Central Command (CENTCOM))
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday threatened Israel and the United States with a “crushing response” following the October 26 Israeli strikes that targeted military bases and other sites and killed at least five people in the Islamic Republic.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday threatened the United States and Israel. (Ata Kinari/AFP via Getty Image, File)
Khamenei said in a video clip published by Iranian official media: “The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will certainly receive an overwhelming response to what they are doing to Iran, the Iranian nation, and the resistance front.”
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Khamenei did not clarify when such an attack might occur or its potential scope.
Iran has already launched two major direct attacks on Israel in April and again in October. The latest attack saw Iran launch nearly 200 ballistic missiles towards targets in Israel.
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Meanwhile, the US military last month sent to Israel a US missile defense system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, intended to protect Israel from potential Iranian attacks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
