Donald Trump warned Iran that U.S. patience is “wearing thin” and later posted: “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” on his Truth Social platform.
- According to Flightradar24, at least seven of them, all KC-135s, stopped at U.S. air bases in Spain, Scotland, and England.
- Six of them had no declared destination; one landed on the Greek island of Crete.
- The aircraft movements come amid reports that the U.S. has also repositioned an aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, from the South China Sea toward the Middle East.
- Target: Iranian nuclear facilities
- Bagwell agreed.
As uncertainty continues over the role the U.S. might play in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, at least 30 U.S. military aircraft have been relocated from bases in the United States to Europe over the past three days, according to flight-tracking data reviewed by the BBC Verify team.
The aircraft in question are U.S. military refueling planes used to resupply fighter jets and bombers.
According to Flightradar24, at least seven of them, all KC-135s, stopped at U.S. air bases in Spain, Scotland, and England.
These flights come as Israel and Iran continue exchanging attacks after Israel launched an operation on Friday that it claimed aimed to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program.
It remains unclear whether the U.S. movements are directly tied to the conflict, but an expert told BBC Verify that the refueling aircraft flights were “highly unusual.”
Justin Bronk, a senior analyst at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, noted that the deployments are “very indicative” that the U.S. is implementing contingency plans to “support intensive combat operations” in the region in the coming weeks.
The seven aircraft tracked by BBC Verify continued their journey, and according to flight-tracking data, they were seen flying east of Sicily Tuesday afternoon.
Six of them had no declared destination; one landed on the Greek island of Crete.
However, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, former chief of the Irish Defense Forces, suggested the movements could be part of a broader “strategic ambiguity” policy aimed at pressuring Iran to make concessions in nuclear program negotiations.
Israel initially struck Iranian nuclear infrastructure on Friday, just one day after the deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to reach an agreement on suspending its nuclear program expired.
The aircraft movements come amid reports that the U.S. has also repositioned an aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, from the South China Sea toward the Middle East.
The news agency Reuters reported that a planned event with the ship in Vietnam was canceled following what the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi called an “emerging operational need.”
MarineTraffic, a ship-tracking website, showed the USS Nimitz’s last known location was in the Strait of Malacca, heading toward Singapore, early Tuesday morning.
The Nimitz carries a contingent of fighter jets and is escorted by several guided-missile destroyers.
Target: Iranian nuclear facilities
The U.S. has also moved F-16, F-22, and F-35 fighter jets to bases in the Middle East, according to three defense officials who spoke to Reuters on Tuesday.
The refueling aircraft relocated to Europe in recent days can be used to refuel these jets.
Earlier Tuesday, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested the U.S. might intervene to support Israel’s campaign, writing on social media that Trump “could decide he needs to take further action” to end Iran’s nuclear program.
Tehran is believed to operate two major underground uranium enrichment plants.
Natanz has already been targeted by Israel, and Fordo is buried deep within a mountainous complex near the city of Qom.
To penetrate the facilities, the U.S. would likely need to use Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) GBU-57A/B, according to two senior Western military officials who spoke to BBC Verify.
The MOPs are enormous 30,000-pound bombs, also known as “bunker busters.”
The bomb is the only conventional weapon of its kind capable of penetrating up to 200 feet of concrete.
Only the B-2 stealth bomber can carry these munitions.
Recently, the U.S. deployed a squadron of B-2 bombers to its base on Diego Garcia island.
While the island is roughly 2,360 miles from Iran’s southern coast, its location on Diego Garcia would place the bombers within striking range of Tehran.
“From Diego Garcia, you could sustain an operation much more efficiently,” Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, former deputy chief of operations for the British Air Force, told BBC Verify.
“They could be operating around the clock,” he added.
Early satellite images showed the B-2 bombers stationed on Diego Garcia in late March, but more recent images of the island no longer show the bombers present.
Mellett said he expected to see the bombers on the island ahead of any operation against Iran and called their absence “a missing piece of the puzzle.”
Bagwell agreed.
However, he noted that B-2s are known to operate for 24-hour stretches and could take off from the U.S. mainland if the White House decided to launch a strike.
“They’ve stripped Iran of any means to defend itself, which obviously leaves any military—or even nuclear—target practically at the mercy of whatever Israel wants to do to it,” Bagwell said.
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