The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz pictured operating in the South China Sea. The ship and its strike group has been ordered to the Middle East in response to the fighting between Israel and Iran. (U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — The USS Nimitz strike group is deploying to the Middle East amid ongoing strikes between Israel and Iran that threaten to develop into a broader conflict, a U.S. defense official confirmed Monday.
The aircraft carrier and its strike group left Bremerton, Wash., in March for the Indo-Pacific region for what is expected to be the ship’s final deployment. Now, the Nimitz and the warships sailing with it will join the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the Middle East, the defense official said.
The Nimitz was making its way through the Singapore Strait early Monday, according to a ship spotter in the area who observed the carrier. The strait is a waterway that connects the South China Sea to the area of responsibility for the U.S. Central Command, which overseas military operations in the Middle East.
The Nimitz strike group includes destroyers USS Curtis Wilbur, USS Gridley, USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee. Assigned to the strike group is a nine-squadron air wing that consists of Growler and Super Hornet fighter jets and combat helicopters.
The Nimitz group is sailing to the region as Israel and Iran exchange strikes, initiated by Israel’s attempt to destroy Iran’s ability to build nuclear weapons. Hundreds have been killed or injured in the back and forth strikes, The Associated Press reported Friday.
U.S. air defense systems and a Navy destroyer have helped Israel shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. Last week, the Navy ordered the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which can defend against ballistic missiles, to move from the western Mediterranean Sea closer to Israel and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving toward the region, The Associated Press reported.
U.S. military installations in the region have been put on alert, and families of U.S. military personnel were authorized to leave bases in the Middle East. Commercial flights across the Middle East were diverted or canceled after Iraq and Jordan shut down their airspaces on Friday. Some of the military dependents who chose to leave Bahrain were flown to bases in Italy before getting on commercial flights to the United States.
In Bahrain, officials on Friday restricted nonessential activities on base. The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain issued a security alert urging American citizens and embassy personnel to avoid nonessential travel.
President Donald Trump said Sunday in a social media post that meetings were ongoing to negotiate peace between Israel and Iran.
“The U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran, tonight. If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. armed forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,” Trump said in a separate Truth Social post Sunday. “However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict!!!”
