US bolsters Trump's Middle East military options by moving refueling aircraft, officials say

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Joanna Plucinska and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. 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 U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The officials also said the U.S. 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, which were first reported by Reuters, 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.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X late on Monday, said he had ordered the deployment of additional defensive capabilities to the Middle East, but did not offer specifics.

"Protecting U.S. forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region," Hegseth said in a post on social media platform X.

AirNav systems, a flight tracking website, said more than 31 U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft - primarily KC-135s and KC-46s - left the United States on Sunday, heading east.

The U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. is positioning itself for rapid escalation if tensions with Iran spill over."

AirNav systems said the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. targets.

A third U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the tanker movement but stressed that U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Last month, the Pentagon replaced B-2 bombers with another type of bomber at a base in the Indo-Pacific that is seen as being an ideal location to operate in the Middle East. The B-52 bombers can carry large bunker-busting munitions, which experts say can be used against Iran's nuclear facilities.

(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 D.C.; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Nia Williams and Stephen Coates)