WASHINGTON — The US military has moved some aircraft and ships from bases in the Middle East that may be vulnerable to any potential Iranian attack, two US officials told Reuters on Wednesday (June 18).
The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the move was a part of planning to protect US forces. They declined to say how many aircraft or ships had been moved and where they would be going.
One of the officials said US naval vessels had been moved from a port in Bahrain, where the military's 5th fleet is located, while aircraft that were not in hardened shelters had been moved from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
"It is not an uncommon practice. Force protection is the priority," the official said.
Reuters was first to report this week the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe and other military assets to the Middle East, including the deployment of more fighter jets. An aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific is also heading to the Middle East.
It comes as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing whether the US will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear and missile sites, as residents of Iran's capital streamed out of the city on the sixth day of the air assault.
Israel launched an air war on Friday after saying it had concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
Iran has conveyed to Washington that it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel's military campaign, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.
Source: Reuters
