U.S. Bombers Deployed, Iran Issues Warning; British Armed Forces on High Alert

Xinhua News Agency, London, July 24 - According to a report by the British Daily Telegraph on the 24th, the U.S. military recently deployed B-1 "Lancer" strategic bombers from the Fairford base in the UK to strike Iranian targets. In response, Iran issued a warning of retaliation, prompting the British government to announce that its armed forces have entered a state of heightened alert.

The Daily Telegraph reported that a U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber took off from the British military base in Fairford, Gloucestershire, to carry out a mission targeting the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In response, Iran has warned that any foreign military base used to attack Iran, including the Fairford base in the UK, will be considered a "legitimate target." Consequently, the UK has raised the alert status of its military.

According to a report by Fox News on the 23rd, this is the first time since the resurgence of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran that a U.S. B-1 bomber has taken off from the UK to carry out a mission.

Additionally, according to a report by the U.S. news site Axios citing U.S. officials, the bomber can carry up to 24 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds (approximately 907 kilograms) or dozens of cruise missiles, and it executed a mission targeting the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the 21st. The U.S. Central Command did not disclose information about the bomber's mission in its statement regarding military strikes against Iran on the 21st. It remains unclear what the specific target of the B-1 bomber was in this instance.