The US aircraft carrier "Nimitz", which was sailing in the South China Sea, turned west and headed for the Middle East today, amid the conflict between Israel and Iran, reported Agence France-Presse, citing data from the "Marine Traffic" website, which tracks the positions of ships around the world in real time.
The aircraft carrier is sailing up the Strait of Malacca, between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Malaysia. There has been no comment from the US Navy so far.
A reception planned aboard the "Nimitz" has been canceled on Friday, June 20, as part of the aircraft carrier's four-day visit to Central Vietnam, a Vietnamese government official said, citing a letter from the U.S. embassy. The letter cited "emerging operational needs" cited by the U.S. Department of Defense to justify the cancellation.
On Friday, Israel, a U.S. ally, launched an unprecedented air campaign against Iran, targeting hundreds of military and nuclear sites in a bid to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. Iran has since fired salvos of missiles in response. The two countries have fought proxy wars and one-off operations for decades, but this is the first time they have faced off militarily on such a scale, AFP reported.