US moving mid-air refueling planes from US to Europe amid Middle East tensions
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker prepares to taxi before takeoff at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, July 24, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren Parsons via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
AirNav systems, a flight tracking website, said that on Sunday evening more than 31 U.S. Air Force refueling aircraft -- primarily KC-135s and KC-45s -- left the United States, heading east.
The officials declined to comment on the number of aircraft but said the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz was heading to the Middle East, in what one of them said was a pre-planned deployment. The Nimitz can hold 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.
Taken together, the deployments suggest the United States is greatly strengthening its air power for potentially sustained operations as Iran and Israel trade blows, in unprecedented open warfare that is seeing civilian casualties mount on both sides.
"The sudden eastward deployment of over two dozen U.S. Air Force tankers is not business as usual. It’s a clear signal of strategic readiness," said Eric Schouten at Dyami Security Intelligence.
"Whether it’s about supporting Israel, preparing for long-range operations, logistics is key, this move shows the U.S. is positioning itself for rapid escalation if tensions with Iran spill over."
The United States has been cautious so far, helping Israel knock down incoming missiles. But Trump vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday.
One of them said the United States did not support going after Iran's political leadership as long as Americans weren't being targeted.
A third U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, declined to comment on the tanker movement but stressed that U.S. military activities in the region were defensive in nature.
The Pentagon referred Reuters to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Joanna Plucinska in London and Mayaan Lubell in Jerusalem and Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama // REUTERS)
