Days after President Donald Trump signaled a possible airstrike against Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain underground nuclear facility, Axios revealed that a U.S. B-1 long-range bomber struck Islamic Guard (IRGC) targets. “The U.S. military used a B-1 long-range bomber on Tuesday to strike Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran,” the news website reported, quoting officials.

While the U.S. used B-1 bombers, along with B-2s and B-52s, against Iran early in Operation Epic Fury, this may mark their first deployment since the ceasefire collapsed. “It was the first time the U.S. conducted a B-1 mission since fighting with Iran resumed 12 days ago,” Axios added. “Using B-1 bombers, which can carry two dozen 2,000-lb. bombs or dozens of cruise missiles, signaled a significant escalation and expansion of the U.S. military campaign.”

Although the B-1 supersonic bomber cannot destroy Iran’s underground Pickaxe Mountain facility, its deployment signals a growing U.S. resolve to confront Tehran.

The Pickaxe Mountain site, located more than 300 meters under a solid granite mountain, has been described as Iran’s most fortified nuclear installation. Reuters recently observed that the heavily reinforced uranium enrichment facility is “beyond the ​reach of the most powerful bunker buster bombs in the U.S. arsenal.” This, however, does not mean that it is immune to a massive airstrike.

“The B-1, a long-range supersonic bomber, can carry one of the largest conventional weapons payloads in the U.S. arsenal, including dozens of cruise missiles or tens of tons of bombs,” Israel’s Ynetnews noted. “While it cannot deploy the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-buster bomb carried exclusively by the stealth B-2 Spirit bomber, it can deliver a wide variety of precision-guided munitions against multiple targets in a single mission.”

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced the completion of a twelfth consecutive night of strikes against military targets in Iran, to include maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets across areas of… pic.twitter.com/9TybEdPspz

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 23, 2026

In a statement released late Tuesday, Central Command (CENTCOM) did not mention the deployment of B-1 bombers in its latest round of overnight strikes. “U.S. forces struck Iranian military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defense assets,” CENTCOM continued.

The news comes amid reports that the U.S. was ramping up its military operation against Iran. CENTCOM disclosed that “[m]ore than 50,000 U.S. service members are operating across the Middle East and remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready.”

I am observing reports of a U.S. strike at the Shalamcheh border crossing between Iraq and Iran. It is significant because the crossing is a key Iran–Iraq transit route. If confirmed, the strike could disrupt personnel movements, and logistics used by Iran-linked groups across… pic.twitter.com/POrqWxWma0

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 23, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reported growing U.S. military presence in the region. “The U.S. is surging forces, medics and weaponry to the Middle East to give President Trump more muscular military options as he considers expanding the conflict against Iran, according to people familiar with the matter,” the business daily wrote late Wednesday. “In the past week, special-operations forces have deployed to the region from their U.S. bases, according to flight-tracking data and U.S. officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the U.S. and U.K. are on high alert to ramp up operations, according to one of the officials.”

Trump on Iran: "They're getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal — but I say they're not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal they want to change it and everything. They're not ready." pic.twitter.com/MZqmlxTUBN

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) July 22, 2026

Iran-backed Houthis attack two Saudi tankers as they blockade Red Sea Strait

Iranian proxy Houthi terrorist group attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, as they enforce a blockade of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb. The attack comes a week after reports emerged that Iran had ordered the Yemen-based Houthis to close Bab el-Mandeb, a major maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

BREAKING:

Houthi missiles strike Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Will Saudi Arabia restart its large campaign of airstrikes against the Houthis. The previous campaign lasted 7 years (2015-2022). pic.twitter.com/MIJpXHQHH6

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 22, 2026

France’s Euronews reported:

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers transiting through the Red Sea (…).

The Iran-backed Houthi group wrote on Telegram that it had “carried out a qualitative military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers that violated the blockade”, naming the vessels as the Encelia and the Layla.

Earlier, the British naval security monitor UKMTO reported that a projectile struck a tanker in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.

“The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” it wrote in a statement.

With Iran disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been diverting its oil and gas exports through the Bab el-Mandeb waterway. According to Reuters, a “significant amount ​of Gulf oil has since been diverted ⁠to the Red Sea through a Saudi pipeline, and the waterway now carries around 7% of global energy supplies.”

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