The United States appears to be significantly increasing its military presence in the Middle East with the deployment of highly sophisticated aircraft and a second aircraft carrier to the region.
In recent days, at least five B-2 Stealth bombers have been deployed to Diego Garcia, a British military base used by the US in the Indian Ocean. More are reportedly on their way to deploy there.
Seven C17 aircraft have also been tracked landing on the remote atoll, suggesting that transports of equipment, personnel and supplies and refueling aircraft have been repositioned to strategic locations.
The Pentagon recently ordered the USS Harry S Truman carrier strike group to extend its stay in the Red Sea by a month, and a second strike group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, is heading to the Middle East.
Both groups have support ships, including destroyers, as part of the group.
This is an unusual increase in military assets and an indication, perhaps, that the US is planning heavy attacks on the Houthis in Yemen and perhaps seeking to send a strong message to Iran.
The Houthis, an Islamist group that controls much of Yemen, including the capital Sana'a, have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea and Israel during the war in Gaza.
These attacks stopped while the ceasefire was in effect, but have resumed following the resumption of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
The Houthis have vowed to strike Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and have fired ballistic missiles into Israel almost daily in recent weeks, setting off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
They claimed to have launched drones into Israel on Tuesday night, but the Israeli military has not confirmed this.
The Trump administration has launched strikes against the Houthis to restore freedom of shipping in the Red Sea, a vital waterway for global trade as it is connected to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.
The first wave of these attacks was the subject of a major security breach when a journalist was mistakenly included in discussions between senior US government personnel on the messaging app Signal.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed to continue striking the Houthis for as long as necessary, and President Trump has warned Iran that he may be forced to take military action against its nuclear facilities if Tehran does not agree to talks. (A2 Televizion)
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