US B-52 bombers fly over Middle East amid tensions with Iran

A B-52H Stratofortress refuels over the Middle East on Sunday (US Air Force via AP)

The United States military said it flew a pair of nuclear-capable B-52 long-distance bombers over the Middle East in a show of force as tensions in the region remain high between Washington and Tehran.

The bombers took off from the Royal Air Force base at Fairford in England and flew over the eastern Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea on Sunday in training missions together with Kuwaiti and Saudi warplanes, before departing the region.