In the wake of President Trump’s apparent consideration of bombing Iran, multiple B-2 bombers departed American bases on Saturday bound for the Pacific.
The deployment does not necessarily indicate an impending attack; the Air Force has been practicing regular rotations of long-range bombers to an Indian Ocean station for months. However, they occur at a time when tensions between Iran and Israel, a longstanding American ally, are rising in the Middle East.
Aerial refueling planes were seen flying alongside the B-2s, the only planes that can transport the 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs needed to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations below.
The strongly defended Iranian Fordow nuclear plant is beyond the reach of the Israeli military. Trump has been considering the deployment of American weapons to hit this site.
A “national security meeting” is scheduled for early Saturday evening in the Oval Office, and Trump is expected to attend.
Within Trump’s party, a schism has developed along ideological lines about the question of direct military intervention in Iran. Trump is under pressure from Iran hawks and interventionists to intervene, while isolationists warn against starting another big conflict in the Middle East.
Trump, who has been showing signs of caving to the interventionist camp, gave himself two weeks to determine whether to launch a direct attack on Iran on Thursday.
No Iranian nuclear weapon, the president has emphasized time and time again. After resuming nuclear agreement discussions, Trump was unable to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program, and the talks eventually broke down.
The White House was contacted by the Pentagon for comment on the matter, but they did not answer right away.
The U.S. bombed Houthi missile and drone launch facilities in Yemen this spring, prompting the rotation of B-2s. The locations were used by the group to attack commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea as well as launch strikes on Israel.
Ever since then, the long-range bombers have been making the regular journey from their base on the island of Diego Garcia to their home airfields in the United States.
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned that any direct U.S. intervention in the Iran-Israel conflict would be “very, very dangerous.” This warning came at the same time as the decision to relocate the B-2s.
At the same time, a senior Israeli military source warned the army to be ready for a “prolonged campaign” after the Israeli military said on Saturday that it had hit an Iranian nuclear research center and killed three further Iranian military officers.
A “preemptive” assault by Israel against Iran, with the purported goal of destroying the country’s nuclear facilities, last week brought tensions between the two nations to a head. Israeli strikes have also resulted in the deaths of several high-ranking Iranian military leaders and nuclear experts.
As hostilities escalate, the United States has joined a number of European nations in ordering the evacuation of its people from Israel. While U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was advising American people in the nation on how to safely escape, over 80 personnel and family members fled the U.S. Embassy on Friday.
In response to Israeli bombings of Iranian nuclear facilities and missile sites, the United States has sent more forces to the Middle East. Iran has also taken defensive measures.
The United States has sent many warships that can provide air defense and attack targets well inland, close to the coast of Israel, and will have two aircraft carriers in the area by next week.
U.S. facilities in the Middle East have welcomed new fighter wings of the F-16, F-22, and F-35 types, together with more than a dozen aerial refueling tankers, to enable longer air operations over the area.