US mimics bombing mission over Mideast amid Iran tensions

 

In the midst of tight negotiations to reinstate a nuclear deal with Iran, the United States reported on Monday that two long-range warplanes had flown across the Middle East as part of a simulated international bombing practice.

The "Bomber Task Force" exercise on Sunday, according to top US general Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich, demonstrated the ability of the US and its partners to "rapidly infuse overwhelming combat might into the region on command."

Grynkewich, commander of US Central Command's combined forces air component, which oversees a region that includes northeast Africa, the Middle East, and as far as Central and South Asia, adding that "threats to the US and our partners will not go unanswered."

The general avoided mentioning prospective foes, although the US is now engaged in strenuous talks to revive a deal to rein down Iran's nuclear program. The latest proposed deal received a "not helpful" reaction from Iran, according to the United States last week.

On Monday, the Iranian foreign ministry stated that it had not heard from the US government regarding its demands. In Vienna, since April of last year, negotiations to revive the 2015 agreement—abandoned by the US in 2018—have regularly come to a standstill.

The final draft was presented to Iran last month, according to the European Union.

While Grynkewich stated last month that the US was "committed to regional stability whether that means deterring Iran, (or) confronting violent extremist organizations," the US air force has recently struck Iranian-backed militia in Syria.

The two B-52H Stratofortresses were escorted by fighter aircraft from the United Kingdom, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia on Sunday, according to a statement from Central Command.

The aircraft began in the Fairford air station in England and flew over the eastern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula, and Red Sea in the fourth exercise of its kind this year before leaving the area "It read in the statement.

The US military said that 16 additional countries, including Canada, including US land and naval units, offered logistical support. The US military "simulated ground firepower".