B-52s fly over Persian Gulf as 'complex attacks' from Iran feared, US ready to thwart...

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/b-52s-persian-gulf-iran-attacks-feared-us-ready-to-thwart

Two American B-52 bombers flew a nonstop, 30-plus-hour, round-trip mission from the United States to the Middle East to send a fresh warning to Iran as a senior military official said new warnings had been detected, a sign that potential "complex attacks" against Americans are brewing as the one-year anniversary of the U.S. killing Iran’s most powerful general looms.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the bombers launched from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on Tuesday morning, marking the third time in the past 45 days U.S. Air Force bombers have flown deterrence missions over the Persian Gulf under fighter escort. The bombers flew through without incident, and Iran had not reacted publicly as of Wednesday morning.

"The United States continues to deploy combat-ready capabilities into the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to deter any potential adversary, and make clear that we are ready and able to respond to any aggression directed at Americans or our interests," said Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command. "We do not seek conflict, but no one should underestimate our ability to defend our forces or to act decisively in response to any attack."

Jan. 3 marks the one-year anniversary of U.S. Special Operations forces killing Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad. A recent U.S. intelligence report says Iran wants to "avenge that killing," according to a senior U.S. military official who spoke to Fox News and a small group of reporters ahead of the bomber flight. The official requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.

The fresh intelligence about Iran is the "most concerning" information to come in since the killing of Soleimani last year. In May 2019, U.S. officials detected a surge of weapons pouring into Iraq, prompting U.S. Central Command to request the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to be sent to the region.

The new bomber flight comes one week after President Trump threatened to retaliate against Iran after 21 rockets were launched at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Dec. 20, the largest attack against the sprawling diplomatic compound in the past decade. The senior official said they also saw the "potential for other more complex attacks" against Americans in Iraq: "I think it is likely that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad would be attacked again in some manner."

"We're seeing planning for, particularly in Iraq for complex attacks that require Iranian assistance in order to be pulled off," the official warned. "It's unclear to us, whether it's contingency planning, or whether it's a plan that is advancing because approval has been given and they're just trying to get all the pieces in place and execute."

While there is a range of potential attacks against Americans in the Middle East, the "most worrisome is within Iraq," the official said.

"We see a fair amount of advanced conventional weaponry of different types that has been flowing over the border into Iraq," they added. "The threat streams are very real."