Open source data shows a 50 percent increase in US military cargo flights to the region as Trump continues to threaten Iran with war
News Desk - The Cradle
According to an analysis of open-source aviation data by the Israeli newspaper, the US military has sent additional squadrons of fighter jets, stealth bombers, and quantities of weaponry in recent weeks.
The new build-up amounts to a roughly 50 percent increase over the previous monthly peak in US military flights to the region.
The US has sent transport and refueling aircraft as well as numerous fighter jets from bases in the US and Europe.
An A-10 ground-attack squadron has been deployed to Jordan, while F-35 stealth warplanes have been sent to Saudi Arabia.
At least six B-2 stealth bombers, one-third of the military's fleet, have been deployed to the US air base on Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean, satellite imagery showed.
The US has used its base in Diego Garcia to bomb Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen in the past and could use it as a staging point for a major bombing campaign against Iran. The base is located 4,000 miles from Iran, reportedly beyond the range of the Islamic Republic's large fleet of drones and ballistic missiles.
Over 20 US Air Force cargo planes have been to the Persian Gulf from Japan and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, likely carrying Patriot and THAAD missile defense batteries to guard against a potential Iranian attack.
Additional US transport planes have landed in Djibouti and at a Saudi Red Sea airfield, bringing equipment for the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group that has been operating in recent months. Its aircraft have regularly struck targets in Yemen.
The USS Carl Vinson strike group is also being dispatched toward the region.
Aviation data from March also indicates a slight increase in US military flights to Israel, as well as Israeli flights retrieving munitions from US and European bases.
The Haaretz analysis comes after Trump renewed his threat to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.
“If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing. But there's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago,” the US president said on Sunday. Iran issued a formal complaint to the UN Security Council and said it would respond to any threat.
Trump had sent a letter to Iranian leadership in early March, threatening an attack if Tehran did not come to the negotiating table.
Iranian officials said they would not negotiate under threats and economic sanctions, which Trump has imposed with full force as part of his “maximum pressure” policy.
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