Foreign Media: The U.S. May Deploy "Nuclear Sniffer" Reconnaissance Aircraft to Monitor Iran

Reference News Network reported on February 10 According to the French weekly magazine Le Point on February 1, the British Daily Telegraph reported that on January 30, a WC-135R "Constant Phoenix" reconnaissance aircraft was deployed to the Mildenhall Air Force Base in Suffolk, England. This type of reconnaissance aircraft is referred to by the United States as a "nuclear sniffer," primarily used to detect radioactive particles in the atmosphere, which allows it to identify traces related to nuclear tests or nuclear accidents.

Some speculate that if this type of reconnaissance aircraft is deployed to U.S. bases in the Middle East in the future, the United States will be able to confirm whether Iran has conducted nuclear tests on its territory. Such nuclear tests are prohibited by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and are a concern for many countries.

This strategic reconnaissance aircraft may only be stopping in the UK temporarily, while assumptions about a U.S. attack on Iran have been mentioned repeatedly over the past few days. Currently, the U.S. is continuing to transport military equipment and supplies to the Middle East—U.S. President Trump warned on January 28 that there is "not much time left" for Tehran to sign a new nuclear agreement.

On January 29, the European Union announced that it would designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran as a terrorist organization, although British Prime Minister Starmer has refused to do so. The Iranian regime responded by designating the military forces of all EU countries as terrorist organizations.

In June of last year, before the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities, the U.S. Air Force's 45th Reconnaissance Squadron commanded the "Constant Phoenix" reconnaissance aircraft to carry out operations and deployed the aircraft in the Middle East for several days. In January 2022, just before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it also stopped in the UK, which sparked strategic interpretations of its actions.

However, U.S. military authorities emphasized that the presence of the "Constant Phoenix" reconnaissance aircraft does not mean that military action will be launched immediately. The deployment of this aircraft is to carry out United Nations missions, monitoring compliance with international agreements prohibiting nuclear tests, with monitoring areas spread across the globe. A source told the Daily Telegraph: "It is not looking for nuclear weapons; it is just to ensure that no nuclear tests are being conducted on the ground." (Translated by Lu Longjun)