Amid the tense haggling on restoring a nuclear deal with Iran, two American long-distance warplanes flew across the Middle East on Monday as part of a simulated international bombing exercise.
In a show of force, the US military flew a pair of nuclear-capable B-52 long-distance bombers over the eastern Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Red Sea on Sunday in the fourth bombing exercise of its kind this year in the region.
As tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran, the “Bomber Task Force” simulation on Sunday showed, according to the top US general Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, that the US and its allies can rapidly inject overwhelming combat power into the region on demand.
The previous Bomber Task Force mission in the region was back in June.
The bombers – B-52H Stratofortresses – that took off from the Royal Air Force base at Fairford, England, participated in the theater integration training and operations together with Kuwaiti and Saudi warplanes.
The US military said that US ground and naval units as well as 16 other nations, including Canada, provided logistical support, while the US army also simulated firepower from the ground.
According to the US Air Force and IDF, the two US B-52 bombers were accompanied by the Israeli Air Force through Israeli airspace on their way to the Gulf.
Though Grynkewich did not name potential adversaries when stressing that threats to the US and its partners will not go unanswered, he said last month that the US was committed to regional stability whether that means deterring Iran or countering violent extremist organizations.
As a reminder, the US air force has recently hit Iranian-backed militia in Syria.
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