Latest news with #B2s
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
First vid of Trump's B2s after mammoth 37hr ‘bullseye' Iran blitz… as Russia warns US ‘Pandora's Box has been opened'
VICTORIOUS RETURN First vid of Trump's B2s after mammoth 37hr 'bullseye' Iran blitz… as Russia warns US 'Pandora's Box has been opened' AMERICA'S B-2 stealth bombers have landed back in Missouri after a mammoth 37-hour round trip to blitz the mad mullahs' nuke plants. Donald Trump has hailed the Operation Midnight Hammer as a "bullseye" that caused "monumental damage" to Iran's doomsday plot. 5 A massive banner in Israel thanks US President Donald Trump following the strike 5 Russia has slammed the US as opening 'Pandora's box' 5 A B-2 stealth bomber returns to Missouri 5 5 New video shows the B-2 Spirits landing back at Whiteman Air Force Base after seven flew all the way to Iran and dropped 14 bunker buster bombs on nuke bases. It comes as the Iranian foreign minister is in Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin as he desperately tries to get help from allies. Vlad's man at the UN has warned that America has opened "Pandora's box" and that "no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring". Russia has a close relationship with Iran and buys drones from the Ayatollah to fire at Ukraine. The terror-stoking Islamist regime in Tehran has already fired a fresh barrage of missiles at Israel on Monday morning. But what the hiding Ayatollah's revenge directly against America looks like is yet to be seen. Some think he will target nearby US bases in Iraq and Syria with rockets or drone strikes. But Iran also threatened to unleash sleeper cells inside the US if it was attacked, according to NBC. The Ayatollah sent the message to Trump through an intermediary while he was at the G-7 meeting last week. Tehran may also close the Strait of Hormuz - a bottleneck entrance to the Persian Gulf where nearly a quarter of the oil shipped around the world passes through. Iran's parliament voted to shut the strait on Sunday - but it's up to the supreme leader to make the final order. Choking off the Gulf would send global oil prices skyrocketing and derail the world economy. It may also lead to fighting with the US Navy's massive Fifth Fleet based nearby, which is tasked with keeping the strait open. Trump has already warned that further action could be taken if Tehran doesn't cut a peace deal. He said in the nationally televised speech at the White House: "Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier." But the Ayatollah's mad nuke plot could live another day after Iran claimed to have smuggled out its enriched uranium before the Fordow plant was bombed. If true, the material could be sent to a secret hidden base where they may be able to turn it into a bomb. Trump suggested early Monday morning that he may topple the Ayatollah to "Make Iran Great Again". Inspired by his Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement, the president called for "Make Iran Great Again" (MIGA). Trump wrote on Truth Social: "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!" Stay up to date with the latest on Israel vs Iran with The Sun's live blog below...
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
‘American deterrence is back': The message that will strike Asia
US President Donald Trump in the White House Situation Room on June 21. Mr Trump said on the same day that US forces had struck three Iranian nuclear sites. PHOTO: EPA-EFE Follow our live coverage here. American deterrence is back, said US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon briefing on Sunday that laid out the details of the US strikes on Iran. 'The scope and breadth of what happened will take your breath away. Planes flew from the middle of America (all the way to Iran) almost undetected,' he added. It is a message that will resonate around the world, but principally in Asia. Long used to cartography as defined in Western terms, the world refers to the area Iran is in as the Middle East. In truth, it is in West Asia - and that should not be missed, as we digest the day's events. The first use of the MOPs bombs and the second-ever use of the B-2 bombers in war have both taken place in Asia, the first time being in Afghanistan. The level of planning that went into this operation, from the ruses that had some B2s heading toward the Pacific while another 'package' headed to West Asia to the integrated deployment of hard military assets over land, undersea and in the air, alongside cyber and space resources - both the Space Force and the Space Command were involved, carrier strike groups shuffled around with swift efficiency - all bespeak a force that, despite all the talk of suffering some degradation in recent years, remains an unparalleled military machine in its lethality. To add to that, US President Donald Trump has signalled clearly that although he abhors war and peace is his principal preference, he is willing to use his men and materiel to force his will upon a situation. Suddenly, Mr Hegseth's speech at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue about Indo Pacific being the 'priority theatre' and Mr Trump's mission being 'restore the warrior ethos, rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence' does not look all about empty warnings clothed in puffy language. The Asian leader likely to be most nervous about what has taken place will be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom I have described before as 'the boy with the nuclear toy'. But allies, partners, and rivals all will study the developments closely, and make their own assessments. In Japan, the 'spear and shield' defence relationship with the US - the Americans as the spear and Japan providing the security shield for US forces - which some thought was at risk of wearing thin under this American president, will likely take on a new credibility. China will be compelled to take additional measures to not only protect its nuclear sites and underground submarine bases, but also worry about what this awesome military machine can do to the military facilities it has built in the South China Sea. In South Asia, Indians and Pakistanis will not sleep easy for awhile. If Mr Trump asks New Delhi to talk Kashmir with Islamabad, it cannot easily ignore the request. This president, since he allows him no boundaries set by international rules, norms, or decorum, will pursue his ends without regard to the means. It is what makes him both so troublesome to handle, and also to be feared. Russia, whose territory falls both in Europe and East Asia, also will study the developments closely. Moscow will draw comfort that it is the vast nuclear resources it owns, and the delivery mechanisms it possesses, that has Mr Trump's respect and gives it the elbow room to stretch his patience over his thus far futile attempts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. That insight will not be lost on China. Sadly, I am inclined to think that the fundamental message we were delivered by Mr Trump - 'peace through strength' - will mean a ramping up of deterrence capabilities across the board at enormous cost, not reduce the risk of conflict but elevate it. Ravi Velloor is senior columnist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Sky News AU
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Global Islamic politics expert says Israel's claims about Iranian nuclear weapon 'at odds' with intelligence reports as Netanyahu 'desperate' to involve Trump in war
An Australian global Islamic politics expert has urged the world to be "sceptical" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims after numerous intelligence reports concluded that Iran is not "close at all" to building a nuclear weapon. Professor Greg Barton from Deakin University told Sky News Netanyahu's strategy to close down Iran's nuclear program may not be as "clear cut and simple", as he would present it to be to President Donald Trump, in an attempt to persuade the US to join the Israeli assault. "I think that the way that Benjamin Netanyahu will sell it to Trump is that you just send in a couple of B2s over Fordow and it's done," Mr Barton told Sky News host Steve Price. "You've closed down the nuclear program and we're good. "But of course, it is not likely to be so clear cut and so simple." According to Axios, President Trump believes the US has leverage over Iran due to its bunker buster munitions – which Israel does not have – that are capable of destroying the Fordow nuclear enrichment facility that sits deep under a mountain. Mr Barton added the bunker buster bombs are unlikely to demolish Iran's nuclear program and could instead result in dangerous escalation of war in the Middle East. 'First of all, those B2 strikes with massive ordnance, penetrator bombs over Fordow, 90 metres underground, that likely wouldn't finish Iran's nuclear program,' he said. 'They'd probably scramble to take what they have left and actually move towards nuclear weapons. 'In the meantime, they're likely to strike out against US targets all around the Middle East and use their proxies to do so. 'So a very dangerous risk of escalation and a prolonged conflict.' When questioned about the validity of Netanyahu's claims about Iran's existential threat to Israel, Mr Barton said they were 'at odds' with other publicly available intelligence reports have said, including what Trump was briefed on by his own security adviser. Mr Barton highlighted Israel's remarkable capabilities at penetrating Iranian society and its defence apparatus, but noted other intelligence reports suggest 'Iran is some way off, it's not close at all' to building a nuclear weapon. 'It is possible they know something that no one else knows, but what all the other intelligence reports are saying is that Iran is some way off, it's not close at all,' he said. 'We can't know, we're sort of making a claim from Netanyahu who is desperate to involve Trump and America in this programme, and on balance you sort of want to be a bit sceptical about what he's saying for that reason.' Israel has been trading missiles with Iran since last Friday in an attempt to shut down any efforts of Tehran building an atomic weapon to wipe out the existence of the Jewish state. Netanyahu said the operations were to "strike the head of Iran's nuclear weaponisation program". White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a media briefing on Thursday, local time, she had been asked to pass on a 'direct quote' from President Trump on the possibility of US intervention in the Israel-Iran war. 'Based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' she said, quoting the President. Ms Leavitt also urged sceptics of US involvement to 'trust' in President Trump's judgement, before emphasising his 'top priority' was to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.
