The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz departed Southeast Asia on Monday, scrapping a planned stop in Vietnam, amid reports it is being redirected to the Middle East to reinforce the U.S. military presence as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran.
At 13:45 GMT, the carrier was traveling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site.
A Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP that a planned reception aboard the USS Nimitz on June 20, as part of the ship's expected June 19-23 visit to Danang, had been canceled.
The official shared a letter from the U.S. embassy announcing that the Defense Department was canceling the event due to "an emergent operational requirement."
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi declined to comment to AFP, as did a spokesman for the Nimitz.
The movement of one of the world's largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation.
Israel's strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.
In retaliation, Iran said it had struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday said that Iran's missile barrage had lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday he had ordered the deployment of additional defensive capabilities to the Middle East, as the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran drives regional tensions higher.
Hegseth did not disclose what military capabilities he sent to the region. But Reuters was the first to report earlier on Monday a deployment of a large number of U.S. military refueling aircraft and the movement of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
"Protecting U.S. 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 media platform X.
