US aircraft carrier en route to Middle East amid Israel-Iran conflict

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) – The US aircraft carrier USS Nimitz departed the South China Sea on Monday and is heading toward the Middle East amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, Newsweek reported.

The carrier was scheduled to arrive in Danang City, Vietnam later this week, but was canceled due to an "emergent operational requirement," the US Embassy in Hanoi said Monday.

After the cancellation, ship tracking data confirmed the vessel was heading west toward the Middle East.

The Nimitz recently concluded maritime security operations in the South China Sea as part of the US Pacific Fleet’s described "routine presence in the Indo-Pacific."

Additionally, over 30 US Air Force aerial-refueling tankers took off from American bases, heading east across the Atlantic, according to reports.

US forces are repositioning amid the Israel-Iran conflict, which has escalated sharply since Friday when Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.

Israeli authorities said that at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured in Iranian missile attacks since Friday.

Iran, for its part, said that at least 224 people have been killed and over 1,000 others wounded in the Israeli assault.