US Deploys B-52 Bombers, First Time Since Attack on Iran
US military deployed B-52 bomber aircraft in its strikes against Iran. Washington also announced that its troops had pounded more than 1,700 targets across various regions of Iran since Saturday (28 February) local time.
This marks the first time the US has deployed B-52 bomber aircraft in its latest strike, conducted in coordination with Israel, against Iran.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, as reported by Al Arabiya on Wednesday (4 March 2026), released its latest daily achievements via a fact sheet on Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
The CENTCOM fact sheet states that a number of B-52 bombers were used in the strikes against Iran.
US B-52 bombers are known to be capable of carrying large quantities of ordnance.
However, it is not clear exactly when the B-52 bombers were used in the strikes against Iran. The deployment came after stealth bombers B-2 and B-1 had been used in previous strikes.
The CENTCOM report says that US forces had struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran in the first 72 hours of Operation Epic Fury, which began on Saturday (28 February) local time.
The figure rose from earlier reports which stated 1,200 targets in Iran had been struck by US forces in the first 48 hours of the operation.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Cane, said on Monday (2 March) that CENTCOM would receive additional troops at a later date.
CENTCOM, in its briefing, announced that the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been destroyed during the early US strikes.
Other targets in Iran claimed to have been destroyed by US strikes include Iran’s command and control centres, the IRGC’s joint headquarters, the IRGC Air Force’s headquarters, the integrated air defence system, ballistic missile sites, Iranian Navy ships, Iranian Navy submarines, anti-ship missile sites, and Iran’s military communications capability.
The US and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran since Saturday (28 February). In the days that followed, forces from both countries attacked targets across Iran, including missiles, the navy, and military command and control sites.
The series of strikes killed a number of prominent figures and senior Tehran officials, including the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against targets in Israel and US bases in Gulf states.
The latest report from the Iranian Red Crescent states that at least 787 people have been killed so far in the wave of US-Israeli attacks.