Hegseth orders ‘additional capabilities' to Middle East
'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.
Pentagon and White House officials have declined to say how many aircraft have been moved, but the flight tracking website AirNav Systems counted more than 31 Air Force refueling aircraft such as KC-135s and KC-46s leaving the United States on Sunday and flying east. The military flights eventually landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and in the United Kingdom, Estonia and Greece, according to the website.
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 Navy 'continues to conduct operations in the Eastern Mediterranean in support of U.S. national security objectives,' the official said.
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.
White House and Israeli officials have said Israel began the strikes after approval from the U.S. — which has helped defend Israel from Iranian-fired missiles.
But even as President Trump has voiced support for Israel, he appears wary of any U.S. involvement in its conflict.
The president sidestepped a question Monday as to what it would take for the U.S. military to get involved, telling reporters: 'I don't want to talk about that.'
He also urged Tehran to return to talks with the U.S. over its nuclear program 'before it's too late.'
'They should talk, and they should talk immediately,' he said while attending the Group of Seven summit of leading industrialized nations in Canada.
Trump a day prior said the United States is not involved in Israel's strikes against Iran, but 'it's possible we could get involved.'
He also has made clear Washington's support for Israel, warning that '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.'
Israel, meanwhile, had reportedly urged Washington to help it in eliminating Iran's nuclear program, with its targets including energy installations, missile sites, nuclear infrastructure, command centers and Iran's state television station.
'We're not involved in it. It's possible we could get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,' Trump told ABC News's Rachel Scott.
The U.S. military already has a large footprint in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops, air defense systems, fighter aircraft and ships.
Updated at 7:26 p.m. EDT
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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