Fatma Zehra Solmaz
18 June 2025•Update: 18 June 2025
ISTANBUL
Satellite images have revealed that all forward-deployed US Navy vessels have departed a key port in Bahrain, as Washington braces for a potential attack on Iran, Newsweek reported on Wednesday.
Satellite imagery analyzed by open-source experts, including Ian Ellis on X, indicates that at least one littoral combat ship, four mine countermeasure vessels, and the special operations support ship M/V Ocean Trader are currently operating within the US Central Command’s area of responsibility.
Their departure indicates a shift toward strategic locations throughout the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman – critical areas within CENTCOM's area of responsibility, analysts told Newsweek.
On Monday, the USS Nimitz was redirected from the South China Sea to the Middle East, bringing the total number of US aircraft carriers in the region to two, amid conflict between Israel and Iran.
In a related move, dozens of US Air Force refueling aircraft deployed to Europe over the weekend as a precaution to support potential operations in the Middle East, according to two defense officials, as reported by Politico on Monday.
“Consistent with the duty to protect US forces in the Middle East, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel,” a defense official told Newsweek.
