Saudi Arabian, US air forces wrap up joint military exercise in Persian Gulf region

Saudi Arabia and the United States have concluded joint war games, with Saudi F-15SE warplanes flying besides American B-52 strategic bombers and F-16 fighters.

“The exercise highlights the common capabilities and potential, contributes to achieving compatibility and operational integration and is a continuation of the joint cooperation between the two air forces – Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Force (RSAF) and the US Air Force – to maintain security and stability in the region,” Saudi Press Agency asserted in a report published on Friday.

The Saudi air force, the Royal Saudi Naval Force, the US Navy, the US Coast Guard and the US Air Force conducted combined joint air operations in the Persian Gulf between December 17 and 18 last year.

Two American B-52 bombers flew over the Middle East on December 30 last year. The bombers deployed from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and were escorted by US F-16s, according to US Central Command.

It marked Washington’s third deployment of nuclear-capable B-52s to the region within 45 days.

US flies two nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over Persian Gulf again in threat to Iran

The US deploys a pair of B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf for the second time this month in another military threat against Iran.

Back on December 10, two B-52 long-range bombers took off at short notice from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana for the non-stop, 36-hour mission to cross Europe and then the Arabian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf, according to US defense officials.

The US Navy had earlier announced the arrival of a nuclear-powered submarine in the Persian Gulf. The USS Georgia passed the Strait of Hormuz accompanied by two American warships, making it the first missile-loaded submarine of its kind to enter the region in eight years.

US flies two B-52s over Persian Gulf amid tensions with Iran

The US military has flown two B-52H bombers from Louisiana to the Middle East as tensions mount in the region following the assassination of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist.

The developments took place ahead of the first martyrdom anniversary of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), his Iraqi trenchmate and deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and their companions in a US assassination drone strike authorized by outgoing US President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.

Both commanders were admired by Muslim nations for eliminating the US-sponsored Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.

The US assassination drew a wave of condemnation from officials and movements throughout the world, and triggered huge public protests across the region.

Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill on January 5 last year, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country.

US, Israel, Saudi Arabia culprits in assassinating Iran’s General Soleimani: Nasrallah

Narallah says the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia are seeking to rid of resistance commanders through the policy of targeted killing.

Early on January 8 last year, the IRGC targeted the US-run Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq’s western province of Anbar after launching a wave of attacks to retaliate the assassination of Lt. Gen. Soleimani.

Iran has described the missile attack on Ain al-Assad air base as a “first slap.”

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