The U.S. military appears to be preparing for an air operation against Iran, as flight data showed American B-2 Spirit stealth bombers leaving Whiteman Air Force Base Saturday. The planes are headed west to Guam, U.S. officials told reporters. From there, they may continue on to the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia, within easy reach of Iran. The B-2 Spirit carries the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs required to damage or destroy the Iranian Fordow nuclear facility from the air.
While preparations for a potential strike are being made, President Donald Trump has not yet made the decision to join Israel’s war against the Islamic Republic. Trump said that he is waiting to see if Iran will negotiate a deal giving up their nuclear weapons and enrichment in return for peace.
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“I’m giving them a period of time. We’re going to see what that period of time is. But I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” the president told reporters yesterday.
Iran has been hesitant about resuming talks with the U.S., having concluded that the Americans collaborated with Israel to disguise the June 13 attacks. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC News Friday that “we have come to the conclusion that negotiations by the U.S. was in fact a cover for what the Israelis did.” A meeting with European diplomats on Friday also produced no substantive results.
Exchange of fire between Israel and Iran continued Friday and into the weekend. Israeli officials claim to have killed two top officers in Iran’s elite Quds Force, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The IDF stated that it “eliminated” Behnam Shariyari and Saeed Izadi, who were in charge of distributing weapons to Iranian proxies and leading the Quds Force unit in Palestine respectively. Other strikes hit Iran’s Isfahan nuclear complex and the city of Qoms.
