Two American B-52 Stratofortress bombers fly over the Gulf of Persia to warn Iran

The United States detonated strategic bombers over the Gulf of Persia on Wednesday for the second time this month, in a demonstration of a force meant to prevent Iran from attacking American targets or relatives in the Middle East.

It came after a senior U.S. military chief warned that Iran is plotting ‘complex’ retaliatory scenarios to avenge the assassination of General Qasem Solemani, who died January 3 last year.

The chief confirmed that Wednesday’s flight was carried out by two Air Force ‘Stratofortress’ bombers in response to indications that Iran may be planning attacks against U.S. allied targets in nearby Iraq or location. another in the region in the coming days, even as President – elect Joe Biden is preparing to take office.

The chief executive said U.S. intelligence had found recent signs of ‘relatively substantial threats’ from Iran, which included planning for possible rocket attacks. against U.S. interests in Iraq in connection with the one-year anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination.

The United States has raised signs that Iran may be considering or planning ‘more complex’ and broader attacks against American targets or interests in the Middle East, a senior U.S. military official said.

The official said the latest information represented the most worrying signs from the days immediately following Soleimani’s murder.

The officer noted indications that advanced weapons have been leaking from Iran into Iraq recently and that Shiite militia leaders in Iraq may have met with Quds force officers in Iran, who were previously led by Soleimani.

The officer was not authorized to publicly consider internal assessments based on sensitive information and spoke on condition of anonymity.

B-52 bombing mission, flown on a round trip from the Air Force base in North Dakota, a growing concern in Washington, in the last weeks of President Donald Trump’s administration, without Iran ordered further military retaliation for the assassination of the U.S. last January 3 by Iran’s top military leader, General Soleimani.

Iran’s first response, five days after a deadly U.S. drone strike, was a ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi military base that caused concussion injuries to about 100 U.S. soldiers.

Adding to the tension was last week’s rocket attack on the U.S. Ambassador’s bounty in Baghdad by Shiite militia groups backed by Iran. No one was killed, but Trump tweeted later that Iran had been betrayed.

‘Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible. Think over it, ’Trump wrote on Dec. 23.

Because of the potential for escalation that could cause a wider war, the U.S. has tried to prevent Iran from further attacks.

Strategic calculations on both sides are further complicated by the political transition in Washington to the Biden administration that may seek new avenues to deal with Iran.

Biden has said, for example, that he hopes to return the U.S. to a 2015 agreement with world powers in which Iran has agreed to end its nuclear activities in exchange for international sanctions. built.

For his part, Iran has welcomed the loss of Trump’s election, with Iranian Government spokesman Ali Rabiyee saying: ‘We are pleased that the Soleimani assassin will soon leave the U.S. political scene and we are confident that a world without Soleimani’s murder is a safer place for all the nations of the world. ‘

Announcing Wednesday’s bomb flight, the head of the U.S. Supreme Command said it was a defensive move.

‘The United States continues to use ready-to-fight capabilities within the remit of the U.S. Prime Order to prevent any possible hostility, and to make it clear that we ready and able to respond to any attack aimed at Americans or our associates, ‘said Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of the Central Command.

‘We do not seek conflict, but no one should underestimate our ability to defend our forces or engage in certainty in response to any attack. ‘

He did not mention Iran by name.

The U.S. is currently reducing its military presence in Iraq from 3,000 to about 2,500. Trump ordered that the reduction be accomplished by Jan. 15; Officials say it is likely to be reached as early as next week.

A U.S. official said Iran may be on the lookout for economic targets, noting a September 2019 missile and drone attack on Saudi oil processing facilities. Iran denied any involvement but was blamed by the United States for that attack.

In the past few weeks the U.S. military has taken a number of steps to plan to stop Iran, publicly asserting that it is not planning, and has not been asked, an unprepared action. to take against Iran.

Last week, a U.S. Navy-guided missile submarine made an unusual move of the Hormuz Strait, the strategic waterway between Iran and the Arabian peninsula.

Earlier in December, a pair of B-52 bombers flew from the Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana in what the military calls a ‘presence’ mission across the Gulf – a show of U.S. force and a sign of U.S. commitment to the area, but not an attack mission.

That flight was repeated this week, with two B-52s flying non-stop from the Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and heading home Wednesday after traveling over the west coast. ‘Chamais.

Conflict with Iran escalated when Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in November, an Iranian scientist named by the West as director of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program.

Iran has blamed Israel for killing them, but U.S. officials worry that any Iranian retaliation could hit U.S. interests.