US 'prepared to defend' if Iran launches attack on Soleimani's death anniversary

The head of the US forces in the Middle East on December 20 warned that the United States is “prepared to react” if Tehran launches an attack to mark the first anniversary of the killing of the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. While speaking to journalists in an interview, General Kenneth McKenzie, who heads the US Central Command (Centcom), said that the US is prepared to defend itself, its friends and partners in the region. He also added that according to his assessment, the US is in a “very good position” and “prepared for anything”. 

McKenzie said, “We are prepared to defend ourselves, our friends and partners in the region, and we’re prepared to react of necessary”. He added, “My assessment is we are in very good position and we’ll be prepared for anything the Iranians or their proxies acting for them might choose to do”. 

The US General said that he had recently visited Baghdad, where he met with the head of the anti-jihadist coalition, American General Paul Calvert and Iraqi army chief of staff General Abdul Amir Yarallah the Centcom commander said that he had also gone to Syria to meet with American forces deployed in the small southern base at Al-Tanf, near the border with Joran and Iraq. Further, he informed that he was also touring the region weeks before the anniversary of the January 3, 2020 killing of Soleimani by a US drone strike near the Baghdad airport. 

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US bombers fly to Middle East 

Meanwhile, in a message of deterrence to the Iranian regime, the US recently dispatched two US Air Force B-52H Stratofortresses bombers assigned to the Barksdale Air Force Base in the US Central Command in a second mission to the Middle East, a senior US commander confirmed. As per reports, the fighter aircraft flew to underscore America’s display of military might and its continuing commitment to the Middle East, despite the Trump administration’s withdrawal of the military troops from  Iraq and Afghanistan.

The long-range massive bombers capable of carrying nuclear weaponry flew above the scathes in the region to deter aggression and reinstate cooperation between the US partners and allies. In an official statement, the US central command said that the mission validates the US military’s ability to deploy combat airpower anywhere in the world on short notice and integrate into US Central Command operations.

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