The Navy's aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, center, sails during a joint naval exercise in international waters off South Korea's southern coast on April 4, 2023. | South Korea Defense Ministry via AP
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier rerouted from the South China Sea to the Middle East on Monday, a move that will put two U.S. aircraft carriers in the region as the conflict worsens between Israel and Iran.
Dozens of Air Force refueling aircraft also left their U.S. bases this weekend in a new deployment to Europe, a preventative measure to support any operations in the Middle East, according to two defense officials, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal operations.
The Trump administration is beefing up its assets in the region as Israel and Iran continue to lob rounds of missiles and airstrikes at each other, with concerns in the region that this will lead to a wider war.
The Nimitz will join the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which has sailed in the Arabian Sea since the spring. That aircraft carrier partnered with the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group to hit Houthi targets in Yemen and protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Nimitz could reach the Middle East later this week, the second defense official said, giving the U.S. two aircraft carriers in the region for the second time this year. But this also pulls a carrier away from the Pacific just as the administration says it wants to strengthen efforts to deter China.
The Pentagon last week ordered two destroyers in the Mediterranean to move closer to Israel to assist in protecting U.S. assets in the region. Israel also has used American air defenses to knock down Iranian drones and missiles targeting Israeli civilian infrastructure.
Last year, the U.S. sent several Patriot air defense batteries to the Middle East, including two pulled from the Indo-Pacific. Last October, the U.S. also deployed a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, along with around 100 soldiers, to Israel to help intercept missiles fired by Iran and its proxies.
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