File image.
On September 30, open-source flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 and other platforms revealed a major United States Air Force deployment of at least a dozen KC-135 Stratotankers and one KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling tanker aircraft from the Atlantic to Qatar.
The aircraft initially stopped at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Prestwick in the United Kingdom before taking off and heading in the direction of Al Udeid Air Base near Doha. The exact number of tankers that will ultimately land in the air base is unclear.
It is also very possible that these tankers are escorting fighter jets, which do not usually show up on open-source flight tracking data, to Al Udeid and other air bases in the Middle East.
Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)
Just a day earlier, it was reported that the U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of over 30 aerial refueling tankers, including KC-135s and KC-46s, from multiple domestic bases to Europe. This deployment marked one of the largest single-day movements of refueling aircraft in recent history.
Tankers are critical for large-scale military air operations, providing in-flight refueling to extend the range and endurance of fighter jets, bombers, and other aircraft. They enable long-range missions, rapid deployments, and sustained operations without reliance on forward bases, enhancing strategic flexibility and power projection.
The mass deployment of the tankers came amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. It also aligned with a secretive U.S. military meeting at Quantico in Virginia attended by Trump himself. All of this sparked speculations of a near attack on the Islamic Republic.
Last June, the U.S. joined an Israeli attack on Iran, in what has since become known as the 12-day war. Dozens of tankers were also deployed to Europe at the time, although most of the American strikes that targeted three nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic amid the war were carried out by B-2 Spirit bombers.
Trump didn’t mention Iran during his speech in Quantico, but a day earlier he said that he believes Iran could join the Abraham Accords, a peace agreement signed during his first term in office under which Israel normalized diplomatic relations with four Muslim-majority nations.
“Who knows, maybe even Iran can get in there,” Trump said at a White House press conference beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think they’re going to be open to it. I really believe that. But they could be a member,” he added.
The remarks were very surprising, as Iran has for long maintained its objection for peace with Israel, describing the country as illegitimate and a criminal aggressor.
For Trump to suggest that Iran, which is still refusing to make any compromise on its nuclear program, could now move towards peace with Israel is completely illogical, that’s of course unless a regime change takes place there.
Speaking in front of the United Nations General Assembly last week, Netanyahu openly hinted at a near regime change in Iran.
“I believe that in the coming years, the Middle East will look dramatically different. Many of those who wage war on Israel today will be gone tomorrow. Brave peacemakers will take their place. Nowhere will this be more true than in Iran… Israel’s victories over the Iranian terror axis have opened up possibilities for peace that were unthinkable two years ago,” the primer said.
Both Israel and Iran have been gearing up for a new round of fighting since the end of the 12-day war. The latest deployment of tankers suggests that the U.S. is now also preparing for such a confrontation.
It is unclear what pretext the U.S. and Israel could use to attack Iran again, especially considering that they both claim that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program was destroyed. In any case, it is guaranteed that Iran will fight back with full force if a new war breaks out.
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just be alert that the target may not be iran….. put with the mass meeting of us generals yesterday……the target may be bigger than iran which may be the decoy in this instance. stay alert!
so these are sent to q a t a r , because the target is n o t iran?
muslimes are hopeless idiots.
considering who creates money out of thin air and who works for it all the “barnyard animals” are hopeless idiots
i know the dual citizen owned news networks in russia think trump is a great guy, but the iranians will tell you different.
i think trump sees weakness and is going for the decapitation strike on putin and oligarch russia.