Trump sends B-52 nuke bombers to Middle East in warning to Iran after being ‘talked out’ of blitzing nuclear plant
DONALD Trump has sent B-52 nuclear capable bombers to the Middle East in an apparent warning to Iran.
It comes after the President was reportedly "talked out" of launching a strike on the Islamic republic after being warned it could spark a war.
The US and Iran have seen under the Trump administration following a string of clashes.
US Central Command announced the arrival of the heavy bombers, saying the planes would "deter aggression and reassure US partners and allies".
At least three of the Stratofortress planes - the largest aircraft in the US Air Force - flew to Israel before heading on to a US base.
Trump is believed to have been considering targeting the site at Natanz.
However, his advisers - including Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo - are reported to have told it could trigger a "broader conflict" in the Middle East.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported Iran's uranium stockpile was more than 12 times larger than the amount permitted under the now-axed nuclear deal.
Despite being talked out of the strike, officials have said that Trump might still look at other ways to hit Iran.
It comes after Trump had warned Iran they had been "put on notice" in a fiery interview.
"If you f*** around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are gonna do things to you that have never been done before," he said.
And the latest flare-up also followed his firing of defense secretary Mark Esper, a move which rattled officials at the Pentagon.
Former Defense official turned Democratic Michigan representative Elissa Slotkin said: ";There would only be a few reasons to fire a secretary of defense with 72 days left in an administration."
"One would be incompetence or wrongdoing, which do not seem to be the issue with Secretary Esper," she said.
"A second would be vindictiveness, which would be an irresponsible way to treat our national security."
"A third would be because the president wants to take actions that he believes his secretary of defense would refuse to take."
Trump now enters his lame duck period in office and the mulling of the strike shows how global threats may impact his final days in office.
Any talk of a strike on Iran will push away the president's supporters, who openly oppose any conflict in the Middle East.
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Increasing tensions with Iran will also harm president-elect Joe Biden's chances to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Trump pulled out of in 2018.
Meanwhile, UN’s nuclear watchdog has said Tehran is stepping up production of material that can be used for nuclear weapons at Natanz.