Reports of American B-52 bombers carrying 12 cruise missiles heading from RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, UK, towards Iran surfaced on Tuesday. London-based Daily Express, without citing sources, reported that one B-52 Stratofortress was grounded at an airbase after developing engine issues. It added that one aircraft successfully took to the skies.
Trump's latest threat
This comes as President Donald Trump's 8 PM ET deadline for Iran is only hours away. The 79-year-old on Tuesday posted that a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’.
“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” he added on Truth Social.
Read More: What could the US target if Trump acts on threats and Iran's likely response? Explained
Video showing B-52 Stratofortress bombers
{{/usCountry}}Read More: What could the US target if Trump acts on threats and Iran's likely response? Explained
Video showing B-52 Stratofortress bombers
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, online commentators shared videos, claiming B-52 Stratofortress bombers were already flying.
“US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers just TOOK OFF from the United Kingdom, and could reach Iran by the time President Trump's 8PM deadline hits Here we go. Iran should cave NOW. TRUMP IS SERIOUS, FAFO is coming,” media professional Eric Daugherty reported on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
What is the truth
However, there is confirmation about any deployment at this time. Neither the US, nor the UK have addressed the videos. Daugherty did not share a source.
Pakistan's PM on potential ceasefire
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a post on social media, said that he has urged Trump to extend his deadline for massive strikes on Iran by two weeks.
In the same post, he further stated that he has asked Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz ‘for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture’.
Read More: White House rules out nuclear weapons in Iran amid uncertainty over peace talks
"Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future," Sharif said.
"To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks," he added.
The Pakistani leader called on ‘all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region’.