The US military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions erupt into conflict between Iran and Israel, two US officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials also said the US aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East, in what one of them said was a pre-planned deployment. The Nimitz can hold 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.
Taken together, the deployments suggest the United States is greatly strengthening its air power for potentially sustained operations as Iran and Israel trade blows in unprecedented open warfare.
Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb. Since then, Iran and Israel have launched large salvos against each other, killing and wounding civilians and raising concerns about a broader regional conflict.
AirNav systems, a flight tracking website, said more than 31 US Air Force refueling aircraft - primarily KC-135s and KC-46s - left the United States on Sunday, heading east.
The US officials declined to comment on the number of aircraft. The Pentagon referred Reuters to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"The sudden eastward deployment of over two dozen US Air Force tankers is not business as usual. It’s a clear signal of strategic readiness," said Eric Schouten at Dyami Security Intelligence.
"Whether it’s about supporting Israel, preparing for long-range operations, logistics is key, this move shows the US is positioning itself for rapid escalation if tensions with Iran spill over."
AirNav systems said the US military flights had landed in Europe, including at Ramstein air base in Germany and airports in the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Greece.
The United States has been cautious so far, helping Israel knock down incoming missiles. Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday.
One of them said the United States did not support going after Iran's political leadership, as long as Americans were not being targeted.
Trump has lauded Israel's offensive and warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets.
A third US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the tanker movement but stressed that US military activities in the region were defensive in nature.
Another source familiar with the issue said the United States has told regional countries that it is making defensive preparations and would switch to offensive operations if Iran strikes any US facilities.
The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defense systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can help bring down missiles.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Joanna Plucinska in London and Mayaan Lubell in Jerusalem and Lisa Barrington in Seoul and Jonthan Landay in Washington DC.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nia Williams)