As the conflict between Iran and Israel enters its sixth day, new information from Flightradar24 suggests that the US has moved at least 30 military planes to Europe in the past 3 days. The planes that have been tracked are US military tankers that refuel fighter jets and bombers in the air. Flightradar24 shows that at least seven of these planes — all KC-135s — stopped at American military bases in Spain, Scotland, and England. The data has been verified by the BBC.
The jets are being moved while tensions between Israel and Iran keep rising. It’s not clear if the US flights are directly linked to this conflict, but an expert told BBC that such tanker movements are “highly unusual.”
Trump’s call for Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’
Trump, who cut short his G7 visit and returned to the US, took to Truth Social and posted, “Unconditional Surrender”. It followed an open threat to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He wrote, “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
His early departure at the G7 summit was reportedly due to the rising Iran-Israel conflict. However, the summit was unanimous when it came to Iran’s nuclear abilities and Israel’s right to defend themselves. Since a broader de-escalation of hostilities was called, Trump made a hasty exit. To clarify he said, “We’re looking for better than a ceasefire” and slammed the Canada PM saying that “its much bigger than that”.
He also said that the US has complete control of Iranian skies. “Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American-made, conceived, and manufactured ‘stuff’. Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA,” he wrote in yet another post.
US aircraft deployment in West Asia
Reuters reports also suggest that the US has also moved an aircraft carrier – USS Nimitz from the South China Sea towards the conflicted area. It was reportedly stationed near Vietnam but removed due to an “emergent operational requirement”. The MarineTraffic website showed USS Nimitz’s last location in Malacca Strait towards Singapore earlier this week.
The US military is also deploying more fighter aircraft to West Asia and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three U.S. officials told Reuters.
One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.
But according to Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett, former head of the Irish Defence Forces, the recent military movements may be part of a broader “strategic ambiguity” , a calculated move to pressure Iran into making concessions in the ongoing nuclear negotiations. With Israel’s strike on Iranian nuclear facilities and the fragile U.S.-Iran deal hanging in the balance, these developments signal a high-stakes endgame where diplomacy, deterrence, and power projection are all converging.