The U.S. is sending 250-pound bombs to the Middle East to put on its A-10 Warthogs to thwart Iran’s military influence in the region, according to a report. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that these “bunker busting” bombs will come in handy when these warthogs take aim at “ammunition bunkers and other targets in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian proxies that have been targeting U.S. troops stationed there.”

The warthogs can carry about 16 of these GBU-39/B bombs.

The paper noted that the U.S. has increased its attack aircraft in the region by 50 percent after recent attacks on U.S. bases in Syria and the death of a contractor by an Iranian suicide drone. 

President Joe Biden said last month that the “United States does not—does not seek conflict with Iran, but be prepared for us to forcefully protect our people.”

Lt. Col. Matt Shelly, the 74th FS squadron commander, told Task & Purpose that the A-10 is “famous for its 30-millimeter Gatling gun and ability to carry large weapons loads.”

“But we must move beyond the weapons and mission sets that made the A-10 famous in the low-intensity conflicts of the Middle East and accelerate change in this way to be a force multiplier for combatant commanders,” he said.

Iran did not respond to the WSJ that sought comment. But criticized the U.S. for earlier sailing a guided-missile submarine, the USS Florida, in the Red Sea. The sub is capable of carrying 150 Tomahawk missiles, the report said.

Nasser Kanaani, Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, said Washington is desperate to “cover up the decline of its power in the world.”

TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has reported extensively on tensions in the Middle East and the growing risk of conflict between the U.S. (with Israel) and Iran. (See “ISRAEL PUSHING U.S. TO FIGHT IRAN” 18 Apr 2023, “MILLEY: U.S. NEEDS TO BE TARGETING IRANIAN FORCES ‘VERY HARSHLY’” 4 Apr 2023, and “MIDDLE EAST MELTDOWN: IRAN VOWS REVENGE AGAINST ISRAEL AFTER KILLING” 4 Apr 2023.)

It should be noted that these warthogs were used by the U.S. in its effort against ISIS in Syria, and the 74th Fighter Squadron out of Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, received the Gallant Unit Citation for its work in 2017.

The Air Force Times, citing the citation, reported that these pilots “faced persistent surface-to-air threats and repeated intercepts by Russian aircraft while developing ‘new tactics to strike enemy fighters fortified in deep enemy terrain while protecting civilians and coalition forces.’”

But the report said the bombing of Raqqa “has also been the subject of frustration from many human rights groups.”

Chris Woods, director of Airwars, a London-based non-profit that tracks civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq, said, “According to locals themselves, several thousand civilians died—most killed when buildings collapsed on top of them during ferocious air and artillery strikes.”