Iran

American B-52 bombers have arrived in the Middle East, the U.S. military said Saturday, a day after Washington announced their deployment in a warning to Iran.

"B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from Minot Air Force Base's 5th Bomb Wing arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility," the military command for the Middle East and surrounding countries said in a post on social media.

The United States announced Friday evening that it was sending the bombers, fighter and tanker aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the Middle East.

"Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement on the deployment.

Israel launched strikes against Iran on October 26, hitting military infrastructure while steering clear of critical nuclear and oil sites, and the country's supreme leader has vowed that Tehran will retaliate for Israeli attacks.

Iran has carried out two major attacks against Israel in 2024, one in April after a strike on its consulate in Damascus that was blamed on Israel, and another in October that Tehran said was in response to the assassination of leaders of armed groups it backs in the Middle East.

Iranian authorities arrested a female student Saturday after she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping to her underwear outside her university, reports said.

The woman, who has not been identified, had been harassed inside the prestigious Tehran Azad University of Science and Research by members of the Basij militia who ripped her headscarf and clothes, according to reports by several news outlets and social media channels outside Iran.

She then took off her clothes in protest and sat outside the university dressed just in her underwear before defiantly walking in the street to the astonishment of passers-by, videos posted on social media channels showed.

Under the dress code mandatory in Iran, women must wear a headscarf in public and loose-fitting clothes that cover all bodily contours.

The footage, which was first posted by Iranian student social media channel, the Amir Kabir newsletter, was published by numerous Persian-language outlets, including the Dadban legal affairs social media channel, the Hengaw rights group and Iran Wire news website.

The footage appeared to have been shot by onlookers in a neighboring building. Another video showed her being bundled into a car by men in plain clothes and driven off to an undisclosed location.

The Amir Kabir newsletter alleged she was beaten during the arrest.

It was not immediately possible to confirm the reports, but Iran's conservative Fars news agency confirmed the incident in a report, publishing a picture with the student heavily blurred out.

It said the student had worn "inappropriate clothes" in class and "stripped" after being warned by security guards to comply with the dress code.

Citing "witnesses," it insisted that the security guards spoke "calmly" with the student and denied the reports that their action had been aggressive.

Unprecedented women-led protests erupted in 2022 demanding the abolition of the mandatory dress code following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested for an alleged breach.

The protests, which saw women break taboos by removing their headscarves and on occasion even burning them, subsided in the face of a crackdown that left 551 protesters dead and thousands arrested.