Above photo: Staff Sgt. Daniel Snider/US Air Force.
Ahead Of Possible Escalation Against Iran.
The US has escalated its attacks on Yemen in recent weeks and may now be setting its sights on the Islamic Republic at the request of Israel.
The Pentagon has increased its forces near Yemeni and Iranian waters, stationing several B-2 stealth bombers and F-35 jets at the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.
“In the past week, dozens of heavy transport planes have landed at bases in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, and Diego Garcia – in what appears to be a surge in the usual pace of flights to the region,” Haaretz reported on 27 March, based on satellite imagery and analysis of over-the-air flight data.
Analysis of data transmitted during the flight indicates that they arrived loaded. At least three transport planes took off from Whitman Air Force Base in the US, home to the B-2 stealth bombers.
American B-2 Stealth Bombers Deploy to Secretive Indian Ocean Base
Satellite imagery appears to show at least three C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refueling tankers moving towards Diego Garcia island – infamously a staging point for attacks on Afghanistan, Iraq and many other… pic.twitter.com/X5OIxvLvps
— RT_India (@RT_India_news) March 26, 2025
About seven planes brought logistical equipment in preparation for the bombers’ arrival at Diego Garcia, a strategic base in the heart of the Indian Ocean that was previously used to launch strikes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The base is close enough for a massive attack on Iran and Yemen, but it is out of range of drones and ballistic missiles from Yemen.
Diego Garcia, March 25 2025. 3 (or possibly 7) B-2 Bombers & 9 KC-135. Hardened shelters are essential for the security of US MIL assets. Strategic power display can work to deter enemies, but we must have adequate shelters, especially hardened shelters at Diego, Kadena,… pic.twitter.com/TccJxVXq2r
— IPWC (@IndoPacWatch) March 26, 2025
At the same time, at least four B-2 bombers were recorded making their way from the US to the island via the Pacific Ocean.
About ten additional transport planes arrived from Hill Air Force Base in the US to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An F-35 squadron operates at Hill Base, and at least eight of its planes arrived from the US to Britain last week and continued to a destination in West Asia.
3 B-2s at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, just captured by Planet Labs.
More on U.S. buildup in the MidEast, including F-35s to Riyadh – here
https://t.co/3oY4urDI72 pic.twitter.com/C958lSfRI1
— avi scharf (@avischarf) March 27, 2025
The deployments are taking place in the wake of a major US bombing campaign on Yemen in the past two weeks and after President Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran to renew negotiations on its nuclear program.
In February, Israel warned a “military option” could be used against Iran and that it was looking to US President Donald Trump for help in ramping up pressure on the Islamic Republic. Iran has stated it has no plans to develop a nuclear weapon and that doing so would be “un-Islamic.”
In October of last year, B-2 bombers participated in strikes targeting underground weapons caches in Yemen.
The USS Truman aircraft carrier strike group is currently in the Red Sea, off the coast of Saudi Arabia, and its planes are frequently attacking Yemen.
Politico reported last week that in a “rare and provocative move,” the US is sending a second aircraft carrier to West Asia amid its intensified bombing campaign against Yemen.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also ordered the Truman carrier strike group — currently operating in the Red Sea — to extend its deployment by at least a month.
A US THAAD battery has been stationed in Israel since last October, complementing the Arrow array in intercepting ballistic missiles from Yemen and Iran.