Anonymous ID: 0d67ff March 7, 2021, 7:48 a.m. No.13167119   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>7160 >>7201 >>7323 >>7454

B-52s again fly over Mideast in US military warning to Iran

 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A pair of B-52 bombers flew over the Mideast on Sunday, the latest such mission in the region aimed at warning Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran.

 

The flight by the two heavy bombers came as a pro-Iran satellite channel based in Beirut broadcast Iranian military drone footage of an Israeli ship hit by a mysterious explosion only days earlier in the Mideast. While the channel sought to say Iran wasn't involved, Israel has blamed Tehran for what it 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 aircraft from nations including Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It marked the fourth-such bomber deployment into the Mideast this year and the second under President Joe Biden.

 

Flight-tracking data showed the two B-52s flew out of Minot Air Base in North Dakota, something Central Command did not mention in its statement on the flights though authorities later published images of the flight crew preparing its 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 had become common 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 sparked a series of escalating incidents in the region.

 

Biden has expressed a desire to return to the deal if Iran honors the deal’s limits on its nuclear program. However, tensions remain high after militias in Iraq — likely backed by Iran — continue to target American interests.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for the blasts, something denied by Tehran. However, the Gulf of Oman saw a series of similar attacks in 2019 that the U.S. Navy then blamed on Iran.

 

full

https://www.yahoo.com/news/b-52s-again-fly-over-132708609.html

Anonymous ID: 0d67ff March 7, 2021, 8:40 a.m. No.13167281   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>7302 >>7323 >>7456

U.S. will do what's necessary to defend itself after attack in Iraq, Austin says

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will do what it sees as necessary to defend its interests after a rocket attack last week against Iraq's Ain al-Sada airbase, which hosts American, coalition and Iraqi forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday.

 

Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, Austin said the United States is urging Iraq to quickly investigate the incident at the base located in western Anbar province and determine who was responsible. U.S. officials have said the incident fit the profile of a strike by Iran-backed militia.

 

"We'll strike, if that's what we think we need to do, at a time and place of our own choosing. We demand the right to protect our troops," Austin said.

 

Asked if Iran had been given a message that U.S. retaliation would not constitute an escalation, Austin said that Iran is fully capable of assessing the strike and U.S activities.

 

"What they should draw from this, again, is that we're going to defend our troops and our response will be thoughtful. It will be appropriate," Austin said. "We would hope that they would choose to do the right things."

 

There were no reports of injuries among U.S. service personnel after the attack but an American civilian contractor died after suffering a "cardiac episode" while sheltering from the rockets, the Pentagon said.

 

Iraqi officials said 10 rockets landed at the base but the Pentagon was more guarded, saying there were 10 "impacts." It said the rockets appeared to have been fired from multiple sites east of the base, which also was targeted last year by a ballistic missile attack directly from Iran.

 

U.S. forces carried out air strikes against facilities at a border control point in Syria used by Iranian-backed militias including Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada in February.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-whats-necessary-defend-itself-145713727.html