<p>A US Air Force bomber escorted by fighter jets from allies including Israel has flown over key waterways in the Middle East where American and Iranian naval vessels have faced off.</p>.<p>The B-1B Lancer passed over the Gulf, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Suez Canal, and Gulf of Oman, the US Central Command, or Centcom, said in a statement Saturday.</p>.<p>It also flew over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of world oil output at the head of the Gulf that Iran considers a strategic area of influence.</p>.<p>"The bomber task force mission... was intended to deliver a clear message of reassurance," Centcom said.</p>.<p>Fighter jets from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all US allies opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran, escorted the US bomber over their respective airspaces.</p>.<p>"Military readiness for any contingency or mission -- from crisis response to multilateral exercises to one-day presence patrols like this -- depend on reliable partnerships," said Centcom commander General Frank McKenzie, the head of US forces in the Middle East.</p>.<p>Egyptian fighter jets also accompanied the B-1B, a supersonic bomber that can carry the heaviest conventional payload of all the US military's planes.</p>.<p>In January, a US B-52 bomber, also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, flew over the Middle East.</p>.<p>Since February, Iran and Israel have been accused of engaging in what analysts have called a "shadow war", in which vessels linked to each nation have come under attack in waters around the Gulf in tit-for-tat exchanges.</p>.<p>The regional patrol, Centcom's fifth such operation this year, comes as talks aimed at reviving the 2015 deal to limit Iran's nuclear program have stalled.</p>.<p>US President Joe Biden has repeatedly offered to return to the nuclear accord, but his administration has voiced growing frustration over delays after a hardline government took office in Iran.</p>.<p>Then-president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018 and imposed sweeping sanctions, leading Iran to step up contested nuclear work in retaliation.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest videos from <i data-stringify-type="italic">DH</i>:</strong></p>
<p>A US Air Force bomber escorted by fighter jets from allies including Israel has flown over key waterways in the Middle East where American and Iranian naval vessels have faced off.</p>.<p>The B-1B Lancer passed over the Gulf, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Suez Canal, and Gulf of Oman, the US Central Command, or Centcom, said in a statement Saturday.</p>.<p>It also flew over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of world oil output at the head of the Gulf that Iran considers a strategic area of influence.</p>.<p>"The bomber task force mission... was intended to deliver a clear message of reassurance," Centcom said.</p>.<p>Fighter jets from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all US allies opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran, escorted the US bomber over their respective airspaces.</p>.<p>"Military readiness for any contingency or mission -- from crisis response to multilateral exercises to one-day presence patrols like this -- depend on reliable partnerships," said Centcom commander General Frank McKenzie, the head of US forces in the Middle East.</p>.<p>Egyptian fighter jets also accompanied the B-1B, a supersonic bomber that can carry the heaviest conventional payload of all the US military's planes.</p>.<p>In January, a US B-52 bomber, also capable of carrying nuclear weapons, flew over the Middle East.</p>.<p>Since February, Iran and Israel have been accused of engaging in what analysts have called a "shadow war", in which vessels linked to each nation have come under attack in waters around the Gulf in tit-for-tat exchanges.</p>.<p>The regional patrol, Centcom's fifth such operation this year, comes as talks aimed at reviving the 2015 deal to limit Iran's nuclear program have stalled.</p>.<p>US President Joe Biden has repeatedly offered to return to the nuclear accord, but his administration has voiced growing frustration over delays after a hardline government took office in Iran.</p>.<p>Then-president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018 and imposed sweeping sanctions, leading Iran to step up contested nuclear work in retaliation.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest videos from <i data-stringify-type="italic">DH</i>:</strong></p>