menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

US aircraft, warships headed to Middle East amid Israel-Iran conflict

3 80
17.06.2025
*{box-sizing:border-box}body{margin:0;padding:0}a[x-apple-data-detectors]{color:inherit!important;text-decoration:inherit!important}#MessageViewBody a{color:inherit;text-decoration:none}p{line-height:inherit}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{mso-hide:all;display:none;max-height:0;overflow:hidden}.image_block img div{display:none}sub,sup{font-size:75%;line-height:0}#converted-body .list_block ol,#converted-body .list_block ul,.body [class~=x_list_block] ol,.body [class~=x_list_block] ul,u .body .list_block ol,u .body .list_block ul{padding-left:20px} @media (max-width:620px){.desktop_hide table.icons-outer{display:inline-table!important}.image_block div.fullWidth{max-width:100%!important}.mobile_hide{display:none}.row-content{width:100%!important}.stack .column{width:100%;display:block}.mobile_hide{min-height:0;max-height:0;max-width:0;overflow:hidden;font-size:0}.desktop_hide,.desktop_hide table{display:table!important;max-height:none!important}.reverse{display:table;width:100%}.reverse .column.first{display:table-footer-group!important}.reverse .column.last{display:table-header-group!important}.row-10 td.column.first .border,.row-8 td.column.first .border{padding:5px 5px 15px 25px}.row-10 td.column.last .border,.row-12 td.column.last .border,.row-8 td.column.last .border{padding:5px 20px 25px 5px}.row-12 td.column.first .border{padding:5px 5px 15px 25px;border-bottom:15px solid transparent}} Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter

{beacon}

Defense &
National Security

Defense &
National Security

 

The Big Story

US aircraft, warships headed to Middle East amid Israel-Iran conflict

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that he has directed “the deployment of additional capabilities” to the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.

© Associated Press

“Protecting US 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 platform X.

He did not name the additional capabilities, though earlier on Monday, a U.S. official confirmed to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, that the U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling tanker aircraft to Europe.

The move is intended to “provide options” to Trump amid the escalating tensions, the official added.

A Defense official also confirmed to The Hill that Hegseth directed the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group be sent to the Middle East “to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel.”

Multiple outlets have reported that the action was a pre-planned deployment that had been expedited. The vessel is able to hold some 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.

U.S. European Command also deployed two destroyers to the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Friday. The vessels can help defend against guided missile strikes.

The shifted U.S. military assets and personnel comes as the conflict between Israel and Iran has entered its fourth day, with both sides intensifying their assaults following Israel’s initial strike on Tehran on Friday.

Israel and Iran have taken part in tit-for-tat attacks, open warfare that Israeli officials have said could last “weeks, not days” and threatens to spark a wider war in the Middle East.

Israel last week moved forward with its strikes after accusing Iran of being on the verge of building a nuclear bomb.

Since then, the two sides have traded large scale missile attacks back and forth in what has become the deadliest confrontation between the countries, with at least 24 people killed in Israel and more than 220 killed in Iran.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

 

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

 

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

 

Essential Reads

How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future:

 

© The Hill