The United States deployed two B-52 long-range bombers over the Gulf on Thursday in what a US official said was a direct message of deterrence to Iran and its proxies.
The US military believes there is a heightened chance for Iranian actions or miscalculations, according to a senior US military official with knowledge of the region, NBC news reported.
His statement came after Iran threatened in recent days to respond to the assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed near Tehran, in an attack blamed on the Israeli Mossad.
The official said the risk of miscalculation by the Iranians “"is higher than normal right now, it doesn't mean that they're going to do something. But, you know, we want to ensure that if they are contemplating some sort of an aggressive act, that they would they would think twice about it before they did it.”
“Our approach right now is we recognize that there are some potentialities for Iranian miscalculations with respect to how they might behave towards the United States."
The official warned that proxy groups could act against US forces in the region, including in Iraq, and that Iranian-aligned groups may act without Iran's direction or consent.
"It's not just Iran, but some of the proxies that we worry about, particularly in Iraq and the level of Iranian control over those proxies is something that certainly is debatable," he noted.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that it had deployed B-52 bombers in the Middle East last month "at a short notice" to "deter aggression and reassure US partners and allies."
