US fighter jets, “nuke sniffer” aircraft and special forces helicopters have been moved to new positions in the Middle East that would allow for an attack on Iran.
At least 33 US military aircraft designed for insurgence operations and missile strikes have flown to positions allowing for an attack on Iran, a comprehensive analysis of open-source information by The i Paper can reveal.
The build-up includes fighter jets and refueling tankers used in traditional missile strikes, as well as special forces helicopters and nuclear radiation detectors.
With deep-seated ambitions to halt Tehran’s proliferation of nuclear weapons, and emboldened by recent US military incursions in Venezuela, the US President is moving US military capabilities within reach of Iran in a bid to pressure the regime into submission.
Trump has openly threatened military action against Iran and told protestors involved in the largest demonstrations seen by the country in recent years that “help is on its way”.
On Thursday, at least six Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft flew into Europe from various bases in the United States. These aircraft are frequently used for refuelling accompanying fighter jets over long journeys.
However, as fighter aircraft rarely enable their publicly viewable location data, it is not possible to establish how many of these aircraft accompanied the tankers over the Atlantic.
This paper’s analysis of the movements was shared with military intelligence and NATO sources who said the movements signalled plans for significant US action in the region.
“This could be another deep strike against the Iranian regime, or it could be the US building its platform to make another ‘Venezuela’ option viable,” a former UK military intelligence source said. “Either way, it is a lot of money being spent just to ‘sabre rattle’.”
Nato officials have been tracking the US military build-up with interest while security sources say the movements indicate imminent US military action against Tehran.
A Nato official said the movements point to imminent “limited strike operations” in the region.
Alongside aircraft, Trump has also deployed a “massive armada” of warships to the Middle East, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group. The warship is one of at least 10 US naval vessels identified by this paper to have moved to strategic positions neighbouring Iran this month.
A US naval strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has deployed to Middle Eastern waters (Photo: Zachary Pearson/US Navy/AFP/Getty Images)Earlier this week, Trump urged Iran to “quickly ‘Come to the Table’”, as he called for “NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS” and said time was running out for the country.
He warned that the US military was “ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary”.
Tracking the stealth fighters
The aircraft include the US’s F-35A jets and Growler fighter aircraft – capable of disrupting military electronic systems. The two often work in unison during “deep strike” operations in support of missile strike operations.
A number of US forces have continued to fly to the region this week from a US naval support base on Crete, Greece, including a Bombardier E-11A – used to transmit data across battlefields.
The US Airforce’s Constant Phoenix, nicknamed “nuke sniffer”, arrived at RAF Mildenhall, Norfolk this week (Photo: TheiPaper)The Crete base is often used as a waystation to move assets further east towards the Middle East. The i Paper’s analysis shows that at least three US aircraft have flown from the base to stations in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
On Friday morning, a US military drone conducted surveillance flights along Iran’s southern coastline on the Persian Gulf, while this paper received images of a Boeing WC-135R Constant Phoenix at RAF Mildenhall, Norfolk this week.
The aircraft, nicknamed “nuke sniffer”, is used to detect radioactive materials and would likely be used to survey the area following strikes on Iran’s secret nuclear facilities. The UK military intelligence source analysing this paper’s findings said it would be a clear show of intent if the aircraft was to take off and head towards the Middle East, and suggested it could do so at the inception of any US military strike.
Other more specialist aircraft have sparked theories that the US could look to pull off a raid like Washington’s December operation in Caracas, Venezuela.
An MC-130J Commando II transport plane – often used in special forces insertion operations – flew to Georgia on Thursday, while security sources told this paper that a number of helicopters used by an elite special forces unit known as ‘Nightstalkers’ had been sent to northwest Iraq. The elite US army unit provides helicopter support to special operations.
This paper identified six Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers that travelled from the United States, United Kingdom, Crete and Germany to Al Udeid air base in Qatar between 22 January and 28 January.
Satellite imagery of the base, provided to this paper by Planet Labs, appears to show an increase of four aircraft between 17 January and 25th January. The Qatari base was previously targeted by Iran following US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites last year.
Satellite imagery of Al Udeid air base appears to show an increase of four aircraft between 17 January (left) and 25th January (right). (Photo: Planet Labs PBC)While the UK is unlikely to directly support any US strikes on Iran, the RAF confirmed it was providing support to Qatari air defence, including Typhoons and Airspace Management support.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has recently said that his country’s military has its “fingers on the trigger” to “immediately and powerfully respond” by land or sea to any US attack. British forces were deployed to the region at the request of the Qataris to protect against any retaliation from Tehran.
The Ministry of Defence refused to comment on the operational activity of the US.
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