US military announces deployment of more warplanes for Middle East

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has reinforced US military capability in the Middle East with more warplanes, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, amid a more than two-week-old bombing campaign in Yemen and mounting tensions with Iran, Reuters has reported. The Pentagon’s brief statement did not specify which aircraft were being deployed or where precisely they were going.

However, as many as six B-2 bombers have relocated in the past week or so to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, according to US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Experts say that this puts the B-2s, which have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons, in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East.

“Should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people,” said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.

The US military’s Strategic Command has declined to say how many B-2s have reached Diego Garcia and noted that it does not comment on exercises or operations involving the aircraft.

There is already considerable firepower in the Middle East and the US military will soon have two aircraft carriers in the region.

President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran does not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme.

While B-2 bombers have been employed to strike buried Houthi targets in Yemen, most experts say that use of the stealth bomber is overkill and the targets aren’t buried so deeply. The US Air Force only has 20 B-2 bombers so they are usually used sparingly. They are equipped to carry America’s most potent bomb, the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, and this is what experts say could be used to strike Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the US would receive a strong blow if Trump followed through with his threats.

Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Commander Amirali Hajizadeh threatened US forces in the Middle East, noting the American bases in the region and adding: “They are in a glass house and should not throw stones.”

One official told Reuters that the US military was also moving some air defence capabilities from Asia to the Middle East.

In 2018, Trump withdrew the US unilaterally from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions. In response, Iran has since surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy programme. Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes.

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