Biden Administration increases B-52 bombers in region as deterrent to Iran
The United States Air Force has sent a sixth sortie of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Middle East.
The US Air Force dispatched another pair of long-range, nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Middle East on Tuesday as the presidential administration of Joe Biden looks to approach negotiations with Iran.
The sortie, which departed from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, is the sixth such round-trip flight since November and the first so far under the Biden administration.
Coupled with the recent deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group, a guided-missile submarine and two naval cruisers to the Gulf region, the air missions are meant to dissuade Iran’s leaders from carrying out threats to retaliate against American officials for the US killing of Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad last January.
The broader show of force, which has included participation from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, also appears aimed at building the leverage for the new US administration ahead of potential negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
