The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is heading to the Middle East, and that will bring the total number of carriers in the region to two, a U.S. official told Task & Purpose on Monday.
The U.S. military is also moving aircraft to the European and Central Command theaters in case they are needed to support U.S. installations in the region, and also provide options to government leaders, a second U.S. official said.
The move comes after Israel began striking Iran on June 13 with the intent of crippling Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in response.
An official announcement that the Nimitz will join the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the region is expected soon.
On Monday, Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin posted on X that the Nimitz, which was initially expected to replace the Carl Vinson in the Middle East, is heading to the region ahead of schedule, so the U.S. military can have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time.
News of the Nimitz’s deployment comes as flight tracking software showed on Sunday evening that at least 28 Air Force tankers had taken off from their bases and begun flying over the Atlantic Ocean, according to The War Zone. The tankers are used to refuel U.S. military fighters and bombers while in flight.
President Donald Trump has not publicly ruled out the possibility that the United States could join Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran.
“We’re not involved in it,” Trump said during a recent interview with ABC News’ Rachel Scott. “It’s possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved.”
Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant is built into a mountain and is buried deep underground. Israel does not have the 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs or the strategic aircraft than can carry them that would likely be needed to destroy the facility.
This is a developing situation, and this story will be updated as new information becomes available.
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