As the fighting between Israel and Iran continues, six B-2 stealth bombers departed Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and are en route to Guam, according to U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News and flight tracking data analyzed by multiple news outlets.
Newsweek reached out the Pentagon‘s Defense Press Operations office and the White House via email on Saturday for comment.
NITRO KC135s returning to Altus AFB, OKB2s MYTEE11 FLT & MYTEE21 FLT continuing westbound to destination Andersen AFB, Guam. pic.twitter.com/VrZwURIjRC
— Aircraft Spots (@AircraftSpots) June 21, 2025
Why It Matters
This month, the conflict between Israel and Iran has escalated dramatically, with President Donald Trump calling for the evacuation of Tehran, Iran’s capital city home to over 9.5 million people.
Israel initially struck Tehran and several other cities in “Operation Rising Lion,” a campaign it said was meant to preempt a planned Iranian attack and disrupt Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Iran, which has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, has since retaliated, though Israeli defense systems—bolstered by U.S. military technology—have intercepted about 99 percent of incoming missile fire, according to Israeli officials on Saturday morning in an X, formerly Twitter, post. Iran hit a hospital in southern Israel on Thursday, and local reports noted that buildings in Tel Aviv were on fire from Iranian missiles on Friday.
Israel’s strikes have killed at least 585 people in Iran—including 239 civilians—and wounded another 1,300, according to a human rights group that has long tracked the country, Washington-based Human Rights Activists.
Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures. Israel has said 24 people have been killed since Friday and 500 more have been wounded, according to Israeli officials.
The U.S. is Israel’s closest ally, providing billions of dollars in military aid annually. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran disintegrated, and the two countries have held strained, distrusting relations over the past four-decades.
Iran’s nuclear program has long been a focal point of U.S. and Israeli concern, with Iran insisting its efforts are solely for energy purposes. The second Trump administration had been involved in talks with Iran ahead of the conflict, although no formal diplomacy has come out of it. During his first presidency, Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
B-2s and Bunker-Buster Bombs
The B-2 can carry two 15-ton bunker-buster bombs—which only the U.S. possesses, making these aircraft critical to any potential operation against Iran’s most fortified nuclear sites.
Officials and experts have suggested that the U.S.’s 30,000-pound (13,000kg) bunker-buster bomb is the only weapon capable of destroying the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, a facility believed to be central to Tehran’s nuclear program and carved deep into a mountain. The movement signals the U.S. may be positioning military assets to provide Trump with operational options as the Israel-Iran conflict intensifies.
What To Know
The bombers apparently refueled after launching from Missouri, suggesting they launched without full fuel tanks due to a heavy onboard payload, which could potentially be bunker-buster bombs.
The deployment comes as Trump prepares to meet with his national security team to discuss potential U.S. involvement in Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
According to The New York Times, air traffic control communications showed the B-2 aircraft taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Iran’s most advanced and hardened nuclear facility, the Fordow plant in the country’s northwest, is a fortress. Built inside a mountain some 300 feet underground and reinforced by layers of concrete, the plant, which is the most likely target of a potential American strike, is impenetrable by any bomb except the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).
The B-2 Spirit, a U.S. stealth bomber, is currently the only aircraft designed to deploy the GBU-57 and can carry two bunker buster bombs at a time. Military experts note that destroying such fortified targets would likely require multiple precision strikes at the exact same location.
Earlier on Saturday, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against missile sites and a nuclear facility in Iran, while Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and launched drones into Israel.
What People Are Saying
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard wrote on X on Friday: “America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.”
President Donald Trump earlier this week wrote on Truth Social: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a national address, in part: “We warn America of the consequences of engaging in war, because it will suffer severe damage if it decides to do so. War is met with war, bombing with bombing, and strike with strike.”
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on X on Wednesday: “Iran solely acts in self-defense. Even in the face of the most outrageous aggression against our people, Iran has so far only retaliated against the Israeli regime and not those who are aiding and abetting it. Just like Netanyahu manufactured this war to destroy diplomacy, the world should be highly alarmed about increasing attempts by the failing Israeli regime to get others to bail it out and to expand the flames to the region and beyond.”
What Happens Next
Trump will make a decision on whether to have the U.S. join Israel’s war with Iran “within the next two weeks,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who told reporters Thursday that the decision is based on Trump’s view of whether Iran “may” or “may not” agree to a diplomatic resolution through negotiations over its nuclear program.
The president is expected to receive intelligence briefings with the National Security Council (NSC) over the weekend as he considers possible actions against Iran.
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