An American B-52H Stratofortress bomber. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The US Central Command said it sent two B-52H Stratofortress bombers on a “short-notice, long-range mission” from Minot Airbase in North Dakota to the Middle East.

The mission, the Central Command said in a press release, was “to deter aggression and reassure US partners and allies,” without specifying where they would be stationed.

It was the third time in the past year and a half that B-52 bombers, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and other powerful munitions, have been deployed to the region in tacit threats to Iran.