Multiple US military refuelling tankers and US fighter jets were reported to be moving east above the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday afternoon, amid concerns that Washington may join Israel in military strikes on Iranian missile and nuclear activities sites.
“Iran can not have a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote Monday night before returning to Washington early from the G7 summit in Canada. “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran,” he added.
Trump’s ominous warning to residents of the Iranian capital marked a sudden shift from the previous US position of not getting directly involved militarily in the conflict and rather looking for a negotiated solution for “peace”.
Euronews’ observations of real-time aviation monitoring portal Flightradar, corroborated by Euronews’ military sources as well as open-source reports from military observers across social media, point to what appears to be an intense flying movement signalling a build-up of US military striking capabilities in the Mediterranean and possible preparations for military action.
Are US military aircraft on the move and where are they headed?
Some of the USAF refuelling tanker aircraft that flew Sunday to Europe-based US bases RAF Mildenhall in the UK and US airbase Morón de la Frontera in Spain, as announced by Secretary Hegseth, were seen flying east above the Mediterranean on Tuesday afternoon.
Military observers photographed the one from RAF Mildenhall as it dragged US fighter jets from RAF Lakenheath.
On Tuesday afternoon, Euronews observed USAF KC-135 Stratotankers originating from RAF Mildenhall and US airbase Morón de la Frontera flying east near Italy, towards unknown locations.
The Boeing-made KC-135 Stratotanker is a refuelling tanker aircraft. Other such tankers are also present at US airbases in Ramstein in Germany, Aviano in Italy and Greece’s Chania-Souda Bay in Crete, to bolster US fighter presence and capabilities in the Middle East.
According to Euronews’ military sources, the tankers that arrived on Sunday night at the US airbase Morón de la Frontera sortied out on Tuesday afternoon, and the movement of fighter jets from RAF Lakenheath, Spangdahlem and Aviano was also under way.
According to the same sources corroborated with other available information, the aircraft deployed from Lakenheath included F-15E and F-35, while multiple F-16CJ/DJ took off from Spangdahlem and F-16C/D from Aviano, all in the direction of the Middle East.
‘Not in mood to negotiate’
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth announced on Monday in a post on social media platform X that the US was deploying “additional capabilities” to “enhance our defensive posture in the region.”
But just hours later, Trump announced abruptly that he was leaving the G7 summit in Canada early, saying the reason for his departure was “much bigger” and unrelated to any ceasefire efforts.
He told reporters he was “not too much in the mood to negotiate now” and that “we’re looking at better than a ceasefire”. Pressed to clarify what he meant, the president added: “An end, a real end. Giving up entirely — that’s okay too.”
Trump’s sudden change of position coincided with Israeli Defence Minister Katz calling repeatedly for the immediate evacuation of Tehran residents, warning of imminent large-scale Israeli strikes, targeting what he described as nuclear and regime-linked infrastructure, specifically mentioning the underground Fordo nuclear facility as “an issue that will certainly be addressed.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that he was not ruling out assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu claimed that doing so was “not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict”, a statement echoed by Trump on Tuesday when he also used “end” in his statement.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that potential military involvement by the US would “definitely drag” the entire Middle East into a wider, more dangerous conflict.
“When it comes to the United States getting involved, then it will definitely drag the region into broader conflict. And this is in nobody’s interest,” Kallas said after hosting a coordination video conference with the EU’s 27 foreign affairs ministers.
The Iranian capital Tehran, home to around 10 million people and one of the biggest cities in the Middle East, has seen a mass exodus as the conflict with Israel intensifies.
Traffic jams stretched for kilometres on roads leading out of the city, with many heading toward the Caspian Sea region.