The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is headed to the Middle East, where it will be stationed, as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates into a full-scale war.
The USS Nimitz departed the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship-tracking website Marine Traffic, after a holdover for its scheduled stop at the central Vietnamese port was canceled.
The aircraft carrier had been scheduled to visit the city of Danang later this week, but two sources, including a diplomat, told Reuters that an official reception scheduled for June 20 has been canceled. One of the sources said the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi had informed it of the cancellation, citing " an urgent operational requirement ," but the embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group conducted maritime security operations in the South China Sea last week, as " part of the U.S. Navy's routine presence in the Indo-Pacific ," according to U.S. Pacific Fleet Command.
Data from Marine Traffic showed that the carrier on Monday morning was moving westward toward the Middle East, where the battle between Israel and Iran is escalating.
Donald Trump previously warned that Iran would experience the "full force" of the US military if it attacked the US during the conflict with Israel, despite reports that he had vetoed Israeli plans to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader.
" If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full force and power of the United States Armed Forces will come down upon you at levels never seen before ," Trump warned.
Iranian missiles fell on Israel in the early hours of Monday, damaging the US Embassy, as Tehran called on its allies to form an Islamic army to wage war against Tel Aviv. (A2 Televizion)
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