Over the weekend the US flew a B-1B strategic long-range bomber over the Middle East, and specifically over the Strait of Hormuz near Iran, in what the US Air Force called a "presence patrol" to send a message to Tehran. The Air Force revealed details and photos of the provocative fly-over on Sunday.
Importantly at various points along the route, which went from the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to Yemen and then through Israel and Jordan and then over the Persian Gulf, US allied fighter jets escorted the bomber - most notably aircraft from Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Politico noted based on the US Air Force statement "Fighter jets from Bahrain, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia flew alongside the bomber" in different intervals and locations.
The report further recalled that "The Strait of Hormuz has been the scene of attacks on shipping blamed on Iran in recent years, while the Red Sea has seen similar assaults amid an ongoing shadow war between Tehran and Israel"; however, it remains "The Islamic Republic has denied being involved in the attacks, though it has promised to take revenge on Israel for a series of attacks targeting its nuclear program."
The flight mission was a rare one given the bomber took off from the remote Diego Garcia outpost, given the B1-B's present deployment to the island was a recent first in the past 15 years.
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