US moving B-2 bombers as Trump weighs Iran response: Reports
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
US moves B-2 bombers as Trump weighs Iran options
Multiple US B-2 bombers appear to have taken off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and are heading west. Flight tracking data and air traffic control audio reviewed by CNN show the bombers refuelled again off the coast of California, and over Hawaii. A US defence official said there has been no order given to move forward with any kind of operation against Iran using the B- 2s. The planes are the only planes capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts have highlighted as the only type of bomb potentially capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility.
Photo: US Department of Defense / AFP
Multiple US B-2 bombers appear to have taken off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and are heading west, according to flight tracking data CNN has reviewed, as President Donald Trump weighs his military options over a potential airstrike in Iran.
A US defence official said there has been no order given to move forward with any kind of operation against Iran using the B-2s.
As of Saturday (local time), the planes are flying over the Pacific and appear to be headed toward Guam.
Two US defence officials cautioned that any movement of B-2s does not mean an operation is imminent but rather is intended to provide the president with options. Another US official said moving aircraft can be a show of force and a deterrent as Trump deliberates.
B-2 bombers are the only planes capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts have highlighted as the only type of bomb potentially capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility.
Each B-2 bomber is able to carry two of these “bunker buster” bombs, which weigh an impressive 30,000 pounds (13,600kg) each.
Photo: Supplied/US Dept of Defense
The movement of the B-2 bombers comes as Trump has spent much of the past week in the Situation Room, reviewing attack plans and quizzing officials about the potential consequences of each.
The president indicated that his two-week timeline for a decision on US military involvement in Iran is the “maximum” amount of time – and that he could make up his mind sooner.
Trump is set to hold a meeting with his national security team in the Oval Office on Saturday and Sunday evening. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
On Friday night, eight US Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers took off from Altus, Oklahoma, according to data from FlightRadar24.
Over Kansas, the tankers refuelled two groups of planes, identified on air traffic control audio by their callsigns MYTEE11 FLT and MYTEE21 FLT.
The callsign MYTEE has previously been associated with special activity flights by B-2 bombers, and multiple flight trackers on social media said the planes being refuelled were B-2 bombers out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Flight tracking data and air traffic control audio reviewed by CNN show the bombers refuelled again off the coast of California, and over Hawaii.
Satellite imagery taken on Thursday showed six KC-135 refuelling planes stationed at Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean that could be used to refuel the bombers should they continue onward to Iran.
– CNN
Trump Gets B-2 Bombers in Place, Prepares for Possible Attack on Iran
No order is given yet. The B-2s can carry the GBU-57 bunker buster, the 30,000-pound conventional weapon that defense analysts say has the best chance of damaging Iran’s Fordow uranium-enrichment facility. President Trump continues to deliberate over whether to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran and has said he would decide “within two weeks” Trump had earlier told senior aides that he had approved of attack plans for Iran, but was waiting to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program. Arab Gulf states are lobbying the U.S. to rein in the fighting and are growing concerned about the possibility that the U.-S. could join the Israeli attacks.
B-2 Bombers Moved to the Pacific
The Wall Street Journal reports U.S. Begins Moving B-2 Bombers, as Trump Weighs Attack on Iran
The Pentagon is moving stealthy B-2 bombers over the Pacific from their Air Force base in Missouri, a sign the Trump administration is getting them in place if needed for a strike on Iran. The B-2s can carry the GBU-57 bunker buster, the 30,000-pound conventional weapon that defense analysts say has the best chance of damaging Iran’s Fordow uranium-enrichment facility. President Trump continues to deliberate over whether to join Israel’s military campaign against Iran and has said he would decide “within two weeks.” Trump had earlier told senior aides that he had approved of attack plans for Iran, but was waiting to see if Tehran would abandon its nuclear program, people familiar with the deliberations said. Israel’s military continued its strikes on Iran’s military leadership and nuclear infrastructure on Saturday. The military said it had killed three more senior Iranian military leaders and hit Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility. Israel’s top general has warned that the war could be lengthy, calling it the most complex military campaign in the country’s history. Iran, for its part, remains defiant, telling diplomats this week that it won’t end its enrichment of nuclear fuel and won’t enter talks with the U.S. unless Israel stops its attacks.
Houthis Threaten to Attack U.S. Ships if U.S. Joins Israeli Strikes
Meanwhile, in Yemen, Houthis Threaten to Attack U.S. Ships if U.S. Joins Israeli Strikes
Houthi militants in Yemen warned Saturday that they would target U.S. warships and commercial ships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins in bombing Iran or launches other attacks in support of Israel. The Houthis, allies of Iran, have remained on the sidelines of the war, sending a few missiles into Israel last Sunday but since holding fire. The Trump administration in May halted a two months-long bombing campaign against the Houthis, saying the militia had agreed to stop targeting ships in the Red Sea.
Arab Gulf States Lobby U.S. to Stop Israel-Iran War
There is not much love between the Arab states and Iran, yet Arab Gulf States Lobby U.S. to Stop Israel-Iran War
Arab Gulf states are lobbying the U.S. to rein in the fighting and are growing concerned about the possibility that the U.S. could join the Israeli attacks, Arab officials said. Senior Gulf officials had backed President Trump’s earlier efforts to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program diplomatically and were caught off guard by the bellicose turn of events a week ago. They worry the investment in their relationship with the U.S. isn’t paying off in actual influence and that they are just along for the ride as the fighting extends into a second week.
Why anyone believes there is anything but a one-sided relationship with Trump is a mystery.
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Live updates: Israel-Iran conflict enters second week as two sides exchange fresh strikes
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, The New York Times reports. Khamenei wants to ensure a quick, orderly transition in the event of his death, the Times reported, citing the officials. US President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, calling him an “easy target.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, The New York Times reports, citing three Iranian officials familiar with the matter.
In the event a supreme leader dies, Iran’s constitution requires the Assembly of Experts, an 88-member clerical body, to pick a successor. The process has only been used once since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Khamenei himself was elected in 1989.
Khamenei wants to ensure a quick, orderly transition in the event of his death, the Times reported, citing the officials.
After reportedly rejecting an Israeli plan to kill Khamenei, US President Donald Trump stated this week that Iran’s supreme leader is an “easy target.”
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. “He is an easy target but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not ruled out targeting Khamenei either, saying the death of the supreme leader would not “escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict.”
On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz went further, declaring that Khamenei cannot be allowed to “continue to exist” after an Iranian missile struck a hospital in Israel.
Citing the officials, the Times reported that top officials in Iran are making preparations for a wide range of outcomes if the war intensifies while Trump considers whether to intervene, adding that the regime’s chain of command has been hit hard in Israeli strikes but appears to be functioning.
Israel-Iran Conflict Live Updates: US moves B-2 bombers to Guam amid escalating Middle East tensions
The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran’s nuclear program.
It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.
The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran’s nuclear program, including Fordow.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to disclose any further details. One official said no forward orders had been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They did not say how many B-2 bombers are being moved.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Input from Reuters)
Israel seeks swift action on Iran, sources say, with a split US administration
Israeli officials have told the Trump administration they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear programme. Two sources familiar with the matter said Israel had communicated its concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what they described as a tense phone call. The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to move against the deeply buried site at Fordow, the crown jewel of Iran’s nuclear programme, said the sources. The United States is the only country with the bunker-busting bombs powerful enough to reach the facility, which is dug into the side of a mountain. The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some prominent members of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war.Iran insists that itsnuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. The White House declined to comment for this story. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
By Humeyra Pamuk, Samia Nakhoul, Alexander Cornwell and Emily Rose, Reuters
Israeli officials have told the Trump administration they do not want to wait two weeks for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle key parts of its nuclear programme and Israel could act alone before the deadline is up, two sources said, amid [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/564764/donald-trump-disavows-his-own-spy-chief-tulsi-gabbard-s-take-on-iran-s-nuclear-programme
a continuing debate on the US President’s team] about whether the US should get involved.
The two sources familiar with the matter said Israel had communicated its concerns to Trump administration officials on Thursday in what they described as a tense phone call.
The Israeli officials said they did not want to wait the two weeks that US President Donald Trump presented on Thursday as a deadline for deciding whether the US will get involved in the Israel-Iran war, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli participants on the call included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir, according to a security source.
The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to move against the deeply buried site at Fordow, the crown jewel of Iran’s nuclear programme, said the sources. The United States is the only country with the bunker-busting bombs powerful enough to reach the facility, which is dug into the side of a mountain.
Reuters reported on Saturday that the United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, reinforcing the possibility that the US could participate directly in an attack.
The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground, such as the one at Fordow.
A person in Washington familiar with the matter said Israel has communicated to the US administration that it believes Trump’s window of up to two weeks is too long and that more urgent action is needed. The person did not say whether the Israelis made that point during the high-level call.
During the call, Vice President JD Vance pushed back, saying the United States shouldn’t be directly involved and suggesting that the Israelis were going to drag the country into war, said the sources.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also participated in the call, said a security source.
Reuters could not determine who else took part in the call.
The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that a phone call had taken place on Thursday.
The prospect of a US strike against Iran has exposed divisions in the coalition of supporters that brought Trump to power, with some prominent members of his base urging him not to get the country involved in a new Middle East war.
Vance has frequently criticised past US involvement in conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan, but has lately defended Trump against Republican critics who urge the administration to stay out of the Iran conflict.
Other Republicans, including Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have said they hope Trump will help Israel finish destroying Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump, who campaigned on a promise to keep the US out of what he called “stupid” foreign wars, has himself seemed conflicted at times about whether to join the Israeli attack on Iran or focus on diplomatic efforts to end Tehran’s nuclear programme.
But his rhetoric in recent days has become increasingly aggressive toward Iran.
Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only.
The White House declined to comment for this story.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations also did not immediately respond.
Israeli strike on Fordow increasingly likely
Publicly, Netanyahu has not ruled out Israel attacking Fordow alone, though officials have not provided any details on how that would be achieved.
Four sources said it is now increasingly likely that the country will launch a solo military operation. Israeli air superiority over much of Iran makes an operation more feasible, though still risky, said two of the sources.
The Israelis feel they have the momentum and have limited time given the costs of the war, one source added.
“I don’t see them waiting much longer,” said the source.
It is not clear whether such an operation would involve bombing, ground forces, or both. Two of the sources said that rather than attempting to destroy the entire site Israel could instead do significant damage to it.
That could mean focusing on destroying what is inside the site rather than the site itself, said one of the sources, declining to elaborate.
Some analysts have speculated that Israel could use special forces to enter Fordow and blow it up from inside.
Another scenario being considered, according to a source familiar with the matter, would be to drop a series of munitions in rapid succession in an attempt to breach the fortified site, similar to how the Israeli military killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last year.
Such a strike could be followed by an incursion by special forces, the source said.
It is not clear that Israel has munitions powerful enough to penetrate the fortified facility. It is widely believed that to have a high chance of success, US intervention would be needed.
But even with the massive firepower of a joint US-Israeli military action, military and nuclear experts believe that a military operation would probably only temporarily set back a programme the West fears is already aimed at producing atom bombs one day, although Iran denies it.
– Reuters