The USS Nimitz, one of the US’s 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, abruptly changed course on Monday, powering away from the South China Sea towards the Middle East as Israel’s bombing campaign in Iran intensified.
The Nimitz carrier strike group — made up of the aircraft carrier and three missile-guided destroyers — will join one strike group and multiple destroyers in the region. It will take about a week to arrive, said a US defence official.
The deployment of the colossal vessel is among the clearest signals that President Donald Trump is contemplating joining Israel in attacking Iran, and throwing America’s military into another war in the Middle East.