Live
- Koraput: Four die as truck hits bike
- Odisha begins Mahtab’s 125th birth anniv celebrations
- Bhadrak: Four held for murder of ex-Sarpanch
- National honour for Odia chest specialist
- Sold newborn traced in Raipur
- AIBOC warns of agitation
- 4 held from Gujarat in ‘digital arrest’ case
- 10 held for attack on MLA Himanshu
- BJD refutes allegations of Adani paying bribe to officials
- Will move Supreme Court if no action over MLA disqualification; KTR
US B-52 bombers reach middle-east in clear message to Iran
American B-52 bombers sent to the Middle East over what Washington describes as threats from Iran have arrived at US base in Qatar.
Doha: American B-52 Stratofortress bombers sent to the Middle East over what Washington describes as threats from Iran have arrived at a US base in Qatar, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
The US military said on Tuesday that a number of B-52 bombers would be part of additional forces being sent to the Middle East to counter what the Trump administration says are "clear indications" of threats from Iran to US forces there.
Iran has dismissed the new US deployments, including of an aircraft carrier, as old news announced now to intimidate it through "psychological warfare", at a time when Washington is also tightening financial sanctions. The USS Abraham Lincoln is replacing another carrier rotated out of the Gulf last month.
A picture taken by US Air Force personnel stationed in Al Udaid air base and posted on the CENTCOM website showed two aircraft. The caption said: "B-52 Arrival. US B-52H Stratofortress aircraft assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron are parked on a flight line May 8, 2019."
The media officer at Al Udaid, near Doha, did not immediately respond to a phone call and email requesting comment and details. CENTCOM is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran this month, eliminating waivers that had allowed some countries to buy its oil, with a goal of reducing Tehran's crude exports to zero. Iran has responded by scaling back some curbs on its nuclear programme, although it remains compliant with a deal to restrict its nuclear activity which Washington abandoned a year ago.
