US B-52 bomber flight sends signal to Iran
Shafaq News/ The US Air Force conducted its third B-52 bomber mission over the Middle East in many weeks, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran to engage in nuclear talks.
The latest B-52 flight took place alongside the return of the USS Harry S. Truman to the Red Sea after undergoing repairs in Greece, following a recent collision with a commercial ship near the Suez Canal, a US defense official said, according to a report by the Monitor.
Israeli fighter jets escorted the B-52s “in an unsubtle signal to Iranian policymakers,” amid renewed calls from Israeli officials for the US to take decisive action against Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli officials are reportedly urging the Trump administration to seize what they see as a strategic opportunity to disrupt Iran's nuclear ambitions, particularly after Israeli forces targeted Hezbollah and Iranian assets in cross-border strikes late last year.
On Tuesday, Elbridge Colby, Trump's nominee for the Pentagon's top civilian policy role, pledged that if confirmed, he would provide Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the White House with "credible" military options to target Iran's nuclear program should diplomacy fail.
Last month, US President Donald Trump reinstated his "maximum pressure" campaign targeting Iran’s economy while reiterating that Washington seeks a diplomatic resolution to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran denies pursuing nuclear weapons, though the UN nuclear watchdog says Tehran has stockpiled roughly 274 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity since the US exited the 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018.
