The Pentagon is deploying a B-52H Stratofortress bomber task force alongside the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. Central Command area of operations amid threats of “heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations” according to defense officials.

Boeing B-52H Stratofortress (Picture source: US Air Force)

The carrier strike group was already planning to visit the region with other bombers.

The shift in assets to CENTCOM was in response to “recent and clear” indications that the Iranian military or its proxy forces were making preparations to possibly attack American troops in the region, according to Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a CENTCOM spokesman.

“U.S. Central Command requested the additional forces to protect U.S. forces and interests in the region and to deter any aggression," Urban said. "A number of factors define credibility but they are all related to the sources and methods through which information is obtained, which is not something we are going to be able to talk about.