US deploys nuclear-capable stealth bombers to major airbase as Donald Trump verdict on Iran attack looms

Flight tracking data shows the bombers, using callsign "MYTEE21", were supported by eight KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft for aerial refuelling.

Tankers linked up with the B-2s in two groups of four over Kansas.

The deployment represents part of a broader repositioning of US military assets towards Europe and the Middle East.

In recent weeks, dozens of American aircraft, including fighters, tankers and surveillance platforms, have moved to the region.

Two US Navy supercarriers are also operating forward. Whilst the Pentagon has not confirmed the mission's objective, the scale and coordination suggest a pre-planned deployment.

The Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency has reportedly informed American officials that destroying Iran's heavily fortified Fordow nuclear facility might require the use of a nuclear weapon.

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Officials briefed on the limitations of the GBU-57 — a 30,000-pound conventional bunker-buster bomb — are concerned it may not be powerful enough to reach and destroy the deeply buried site, even if President Trump gives the order.

Reports suggest conventional bombs might have to soften the terrain, followed by dropping a tactical nuclear weapon from a B-2 stealth bomber.

A senior White House official told Fox News that "none of the options are off the table".

Trump is not currently considering the nuclear option, nor has it been formally presented to him by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Diego Garcia's strategic location makes it an ideal staging point for potential strikes on Iran.

The remote island sits approximately 4,800 kilometres from Iran's southern coast, placing it beyond the reach of Iranian weapons and largely unmonitored.

B-2 bombers operating from the base could fly across the Indian Ocean without entering the airspace of any of Iran's allies, reducing interception risks.

The island's isolation also provides secure take-off conditions without facing attack.

However, under the terms of Sir Keir Starmer's "surrender" deal with Mauritius, the US President must obtain the permission of the Prime Minister to launch an attack from the joint UK-US military base at Diego Garcia.

The terms of the deal also include a commitment to Article 4 of international law.

Asked last week whether the Government would block Trump's planes taking off from the UK-US base, a Downing Street spokesman said: "I'm not going to get into hypothetical situations and I'm not going to speculate."

Satellite imagery from April 2025 showed six US B-2 Spirit bombers on Diego Garcia's runway — about one-third of America's fleet of these intercontinental strike aircraft.

The base has historically played significant roles in major conflicts, though it remained relatively unknown until the current Israeli-Iranian tensions brought renewed attention to this British-leased territory.

The GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator weighs 30,000 pounds and can carry over 5,300 pounds of explosive material, delivering "10 times" the explosive power of its predecessor, the BLU-109.

The B-2 Spirit is the only US aircraft specifically designed to penetrate heavily defended targets and can carry two GBU-57s at a time.

This capability is crucial for targeting Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is buried deep under a mountain near Qom.

The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that 166.6 kilograms of Iran's 60 per cent enriched uranium was produced at Fordow.

The facility contains enough centrifuges and uranium hexafluoride gas to produce several nuclear weapons.

Israel lacks the ordnance to destroy Fordow independently, but "multiple strikes" from US GBU-57s mounted on B-2 bombers "could destroy the facility", according to experts.