U.S. Military On The Move: Strike Group En Route To Middle East Amid Israel’s Iran Offensive

A United States aircraft carrier strike group is on its way to the Middle East, following a large number of refueling aircraft that arrived in Europe amid Israel’s ongoing offensive against Iran.

The U.S. Navy’s USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is heading to the Middle East from the South China Sea, according to Fox News’s Jennifer Griffin. The strike group is equipped with nine squadrons flying F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2D Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.

On Sunday, several social media accounts tracked the flight movements of multiple KC-135 and KC-46 refueling aircraft, showing they were en route to Europe. Two American officials said the aircraft were being repositioned to provide President Donald Trump with additional options, according to Reuters.

The Nimitz, which is the oldest aircraft carrier in the world and set to be decommissioned next year, was scheduled to replace the USS Carl Vinson, which is currently in the Arabian Sea, but is now coming ahead of schedule. The two aircraft carrier strike groups will reportedly be present at the same time as the only United States carriers in the Middle East.

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A reception scheduled for the Nimitz in Vietnam on June 20 has reportedly been canceled.

Griffin notes that the USS Nimitz’s presence amid Iran’s conflict with an American ally is significant, as it was also deployed in 1980 to help rescue American hostages held at the United States Embassy in Tehran during the failed Operation Eagle Claw.

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Aircraft tankers are essential in refueling aircraft for long-range strikes.

On Sunday night, Trump encouraged Iran and Israel to “make a deal.”

“We will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that’s OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!”

Speaking to Fox News’s Bret Baier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is fighting a war to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

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“Once they go that route, it’s too late,” Netanyahu said. “We will have a second Holocaust — a nuclear Holocaust. We already had one in the previous century. The Jewish state is not going to have the Holocaust on the Jewish people. Never again is now, and we have to act now.”

Netanyahu said he gave the Iranians a chance to make a nuclear deal with Trump, but it became clear to both him and the United States that Iran was not serious.

“They basically strung everyone along and it was clear to us that the talks were going nowhere,” Netanyahu said.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces, one-third of Iranian missile launchers have been destroyed, and Netanyahu announced on Monday that the Israeli Air Force “controls the skies over Tehran.”