The U.S. military is rerouting the USS Nimitz carrier strike group to the Middle East ahead of schedule from the South China Sea to bolster its presence in the region.

The Nimitz, which could reach the Middle East as soon as this week, will join the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which has been in the Middle East for months and carried out the military campaign against the Houthis with the USS Harry S. Trump carrier strike group, according to Reuters.

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More than two dozen Air Force KC-135R and KC-46A refueling tankers also left U.S. bases this past weekend, heading for a new deployment to Europe, bringing them closer to the conflict. They are able to refuel U.S. military aircraft and bombers mid-air.

The additional assets will give U.S. leaders more options, and the decision to expedite the Nimitz’s arrival to the region comes less than a week after Israel and Iran began their first direct military conflict.

U.S. troops aided Israel in shooting down Iranian-fired missiles, a U.S. official told the Washington Examiner on Friday.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is not involved in the war, though he has left open the possibility that the U.S. could enter the conflict. He has called on Iran to come to the negotiating table to stop the war before the two sides escalate the war even further.

Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tehran not to target U.S. troops or bases in the region.

“There have been no direct hits on any U.S. facilities, and we have received no reports of U.S. citizen casualties,” a White House official told the Washington Examiner on Monday, though the embassy in Jerusalem was damaged over the weekend in one of Iran’s missile barrages.

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The U.S. also helped Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks back in April and October 2024 during the Biden administration.