Trump orders special forces to Europe as US ‘prepares new attack on Iran’ | World | News
As fears of new American military operations increase after Nicolas Maduro was captured by Delta Force troops in Venezuela, the United States is deploying special forces units to Europe. Flight tracking data shows an increase in US military flights arriving at RAF Fairford and RAF Mildenhall.
Among the aircraft arriving at the two airports were C-17 Globemaster III transport planes as well as two AC-130 warships. Most flights operated from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia. C-17s were believed to be carrying US Army rotary wing assets, but no MH-47 Chinook helicopters were directly observed at RAF Fairford.
Experts say the planes’ departure locations and route patterns are consistent with the movements of special operations aviation units.
Open source images and flight data indicate assets from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment were likely involved in the incident. UK Defense Magazine.
Units in this formation include elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, and 160th SOAR.
These forces are routinely tasked with rapid response and high-risk missions, such as the capture or surrender of high-value individuals.
Similar increases in C-17 activities were observed at RAF Fairford, particularly ahead of the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
Iran has been rocked by mass anti-regime protests since the end of December, with thousands of people taking to the streets to express their anger. The new protests were sparked by the collapse of the currency and rising inflation, making it the most widespread civil unrest since 2022.
Donald Trump He warned Tehran that the United States could intervene if authorities began killing demonstrators.
In a post on the Truth Social website on Friday, he wrote: “If Iran fires [sic] and if they brutally murder peaceful protesters as is their wont, the United States will come to their rescue.”
The eldest son of Iran’s former ruler, the Shah, said the protests had turned into a direct challenge to the country’s religious leaders.
In his statement, Reza Pahlavi said that anti-regime slogans such as “‘Death to the dictator’, ‘Long live the Shah’ and ‘This is the last war, Pahlavi will return’ were used extensively in the protests.”
