The US military has conducted a third B-52 bomber flyover of the Middle East in a month, the first under President Joe Biden.
The aircraft departed from Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base to undertake a "presence patrol", the US Central Command announced on Wednesday.
It said the mission was designed to "demonstrate the US military’s ability to deploy air power anywhere in the world to deter potential aggression and showcase the US commitment to regional security".
The B-52H Stratofortress can fly 14,000 kilometres on a single fuel load and reach altitudes of 15,200 metres.
It was accompanied by a variety of other US military aircraft, including F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and KC-135 Stratotankers.
The mission also released photographs of Saudi Arabian F15s flying alongside the bomber.
It was the third such mission this year and the sixth in the past 72 days, in a pattern established by Mr Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump.
The US has not said the missions are aimed at Iran, but Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has responded with anger to them.
"If your B-52H 'Presence Patrols' are meant to intimidate or warn Iran, you should have spent those billions on your taxpayers' health," Mr Zarif tweeted after the previous mission on January 17.
Despite the US "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions on Iran, Centcom chief Gen Frank McKenzie insisted the flyovers were not intended to escalate tensions.
"We're not looking for war with Iran, I really want to emphasise that,” he said in December.
Gen McKenzie visited Bahrain on Tuesday, meeting Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad to discuss regional security.
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