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The US Air Force has launched the deployment of B-52 Stratofortress bombers in the Gulf in response to a purported Iranian plan to attack US forces in the region, the Pentagon reported Tuesday.
Several B-52s with nuclear capabilities are heading to the region, accompanied by an aircraft carrier working group, following what the Defense Ministry has called "clear and recent indications that the Iranian and Iranian forces were preparing to attack the US Forces. "
"The deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and an operational force against bombers is considered a prudent step in response to signs of Iran's greater willingness to conduct offensive operations against US forces and our interests. "Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers said in a statement. "We underline the White House's statement that we are not trying to wage war on the Iranian regime, but that we will defend American personnel, our allies and our interests in the region," he added.
The deployment was first announced Sunday by John Bolton, President Donald Trump's national security advisor, who said the move was "a clear and unequivocal message to the Iranian regime that any attack on US interests or our allies will be received with relentless strength. "
The US measure responds to secret service information regarding a threat orchestrated by Iran, authorities said, but details of the threat have not been revealed.
Navy Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Army Central Command, which covers the Middle East, said that the threat can be land or sea.
He said that advance in the area of the aircraft carrier Lincoln was already scheduled in a long-planned deployment, but that his arrival in the Gulf had accelerated because of the threat.
The multinational operation, which includes several ships, several types of aircraft and 6,000 people, will be deployed "where it can best protect US forces and interests in the region and discourage aggression."
This move comes a year after Trump withdrew the United States from a multinational agreement under which Tehran had significantly reduced its sensitive nuclear activities.
Since then, the Trump administration has reinforced the threatening rhetoric against Iran and strengthened economic sanctions against the country.
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