Two American B-52 bombers fly over the Persian Gulf

CENTCOM, the US military's Central Command, announced that two B-52 bombers had flown over the Persian Gulf. CENTCOM said Israeli F-16 fighters escorted the bombers as they returned.

CENTCOM, the headquarters of the US military forces in the Middle East and North Africa, announced on its official Twitter account the flight of two US Air Force B-52 bombers over the Persian Gulf.

The bombers are scheduled to fly out on Wednesday, June 8. According to CENTCOM, “the bombers were escorted by Israeli F-16 fighter jets on their return flight.”

American strategic bombers have flown over the Persian Gulf and near Iran's borders many times before, as the situation in the Middle East became tense.

The flight of these fighter jets over the Persian Gulf this time took place on the same day that the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors approved a resolution proposed by the three European countries that are parties to the JCPOA and the United States, according to which the Islamic Republic was called upon to respond as quickly as possible to the agency's questions about uranium particles discovered in three undeclared locations.

Of the 35 members of the Board of Governors, 30 countries voted in favor of this resolution, with only China and Russia voting against.

A day after the IAEA Board of Governors issued the resolution, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, announced in a press conference that Islamic Republic officials had told the Agency that they wanted to shut down the operation of 27 cameras monitoring Iran's nuclear activities.

Grossi called Iran's move unconstructive and stated that it would make the process of returning to full implementation of the JCPOA agreement very difficult.

The shutdown of the IAEA's cameras also sparked international reactions.

Germany, France, and Britain condemned Iran's move and called on Iran to resume monitoring and verification measures related to the JCPOA and stop "escalating" nuclear tensions.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that Iran is risking further isolation and escalating tensions by disabling the International Atomic Energy Agency's surveillance cameras.

Iran also reacted at a high level. Regarding the adoption of the resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors condemning and condemning Iran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the Islamic Republic will not retreat a single step from its positions.

Source: DW