US sends heavy bombers to Qatar as Israel-Iran tensions flare - satellites

A B-52 aircraft from the US Air Force is parked at Nellis base during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, February 8, 2023.
A B-52 aircraft from the US Air Force is parked at Nellis base during the annual Red Flag military exercise between the United States, Britain and Australia, in Nevada, February 8, 2023.

Satellite imagery revealed six heavy B52 bombers were moved to Qatar this week after more US forces and air defenses were already stationed in Israel ahead as Iran pledged to strike the Jewish State.

Iran has pledged retaliation for the Israeli air attacks on its missile sites on October 26, the latest direct confrontation between the regional arch-foes.

Capable of carrying large loads of munitions, the B52 deployment shown by imagery from Planet Labs indicates the United States is pushing its most powerful air assets even closer to Iran.

“All six USAF B-52 bombers at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Great image from today via our friends at Planet Labs,” Hans Kristensen, Director of Nuclear Information Project, said on X.

The US has already deployed over 100 troops in addition to the THAAD missile interceptor system and dozens of fighter jets for possible interceptions.

As Iran’s Houthi militia in Yemen continues its blockade of the Red Sea region, US B52s recently bombed underground targets there.

Last month, Israel’s hours-long aerial bombardment destroyed large swathes of Iran’s air defenses, although there have been indications that the next strike could come from Iraq, suggesting a mass drone attack while the largest ballistic missiles remain in Iran. However, the Iraqi militia has missile and ballistic capabilities.

Haaretz reported that at least 12 F-15E strike fighters are bound to Jordan to build up defenses for US allies in the region following Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in September.

The F-15Es deployment earlier “helped (Jordan) – along with the air force of Israel and other nations – to intercept the first Iranian attack on Israel on April 13, which included dozens of cruise missiles and drones, along with ballistic missiles launched at Israel,” Haaretz wrote.

After the assassination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah in September, US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, order the USS Lincoln to stay in the region to deter Iran from an attack following Nasrallah's killing.

Additional squadrons have also since been deployed and several American missile destroyers, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, remain stationed in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

Israel and Iran's war of attrition broke out after a years-long shadow war in April when Iran launched an inaugural attack on the Jewish state. In retaliation for an alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria, it has led to a series of direct attacks between the two archenemies.