Prepping to attack Iran? US ‘nuke sniffer’ plane arrives in Britain and special forces rehearse ‘fast roping’ from aircraft as Trump weighs up going after the Ayatollah
While Donald Trump was evaluating whether to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, the US’s ‘nuclear detection’ plane made a rare landing in England.
The plane was spotted at an unnamed British air base on Thursday; US special forces here were also seen conducting ‘fast roping’ training exercises, a technique used to place soldiers behind military lines.
This is only the third deployment to a UK airbase in 40 years, as its deployment to Europe is unusual and normally relates to missions close to the Russian border.
The WC-135R aircraft is used to test for radiation leakage into the atmosphere related to nuclear explosion and incident detection.
It was deployed after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant incident in 2011, during North Korean nuclear tests, and at the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia war in 2022.
The plane’s unusual arrival fueled speculation about preparations for conflict with Iran.
A US naval strike group arrived in Middle Eastern waters on Monday and Trump warned it was “ready, willing and able” to strike Iran “if necessary”.
He said on Wednesday that ‘time is running out’ for Iran to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme, which the West believes is aimed at making an atomic bomb.
The United States struck Iran’s nuclear targets in June when it briefly joined Israel’s war against Iran.
Trump is considering options against Iran, including targeted attacks on security forces and leaders to encourage protesters to breach government buildings.
Special forces were seen performing ‘fast tug of war’ on a V-22 Osprey aircraft
US WC-135R Constant Phoenix ‘Nuke Sniffer’ aircraft arrived in the UK
Iran has now promised a ‘overwhelming response’ to any attack.
Washington and Tehran issued stern warnings to each other as a wave of protests in Iran led Trump to threaten military action over a violent crackdown, while the Islamic republic accused the US of fueling what it described as a “revolt”.
The encounter sent diplomatic shockwaves across the region, with calls for talks to defuse tensions roiling key regional actors.
Iranian officials have stepped up their warnings that Tehran will respond strongly to any US military intervention, but have not ruled out diplomatic solutions.
Iran’s chief of staff, Amir Hatami, on Thursday promised an “overwhelming response” to any attack, according to state television, which reported that 1,000 “strategic drones” had joined the combat regiments.
Senior Hezbollah official Nawaf al-Moussawi warned yesterday that the outcome of America’s military action against Iran was unpredictable: ‘What is holding the US back is its inability to predict the aftermath of the attack.’
When asked whether the Lebanese terrorist group supported by the regime would support Iran if attacked by the USA, he said: ‘We will cross that bridge when we reach it.’
Two US sources familiar with the discussions said Trump wanted to create conditions for ‘regime change’.
Iran vows ‘overwhelming response’ to any attack after Donald Trump (pictured) warns time is up for nuclear deal
Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, on January 9
To do so, they said, Washington is looking at options to strike commanders and institutions it blames for the violence to give protesters the confidence to attack government and security buildings.
Options discussed by Trump aides include a much larger strike aimed at having a lasting impact, possibly against ballistic missiles that could reach U.S. allies in the Middle East or nuclear enrichment programs, a U.S. source said.
Another US source said that Trump has not yet made a final decision on his action plan, including whether he will choose the military route.
Four Arab officials, three Western diplomats and a senior Western source whose governments have been briefed on the discussions said they were concerned that such strikes, rather than bringing people to the streets, could weaken a movement already in shock after the bloodiest crackdown by authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Without large-scale military disengagements, Iran’s protests remain “heroic but unarmed,” said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was “using diplomatic channels while preparing for a military conflict.”
But the official said Washington has not shown an openness to diplomacy.
Newspapers in Tehran, the capital of Iran, prominently included US President Donald Trump’s statements that military options could be evaluated, January 28.
Families searching for relatives killed during the regime’s violent crackdown on protests face rows of body bags at the Kahrizak Forensic Medicine Office, January 13
Tehran, which says its nuclear program is civilian, is ready for dialogue “based on mutual respect and interests” but will defend itself “like never before” if forced, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on channel X on Wednesday.
Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned in X that Iranian forces were ready to retaliate.
He said: ‘Our brave Armed Forces, with their fingers on the trigger, are ready to respond immediately and forcefully to ANY attack on our beloved land, air and sea.
Valuable lessons learned from the ’12 Day War’ enabled us to respond stronger, faster and more deeply.
‘At the same time, Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR AGREEMENT, on equal terms, without pressure, threats and intimidation, which guarantees Iran’s rights to possess PEACEFUL nuclear technology and guarantees NON-USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
‘Such weapons have no place in our security calculations and we have NEVER sought to obtain them.’
