The nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrives at a South Korean naval base during a visit to the port of Busan on March 2, 2025. (Credit: Yonhap/AFP.)
BEIRUT — The American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, previously cruising in the South China Sea, changed course westward on Monday and is now heading toward the Middle East, according to Marine Traffic, a website that tracks real-time ship movements worldwide.
As of Monday, the carrier was navigating the Strait of Malacca, situated between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Malaysia. The U.S. Navy has not yet responded to a request for comment from AFP.
A scheduled reception aboard the Nimitz — part of a planned four-day visit to the port of Danang in central Vietnam — has been canceled, a Vietnamese government official confirmed. The cancellation, planned for Friday, June 20, was attributed to an “emerging operational need,” according to a letter from the U.S. Embassy cited by the official. The justification was provided by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The move comes as Israel, a key U.S. ally, launched an unprecedented large-scale aerial campaign against Iran on Friday, targeting hundreds of military and nuclear sites. The stated objective: to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. In response, Iran has fired a barrage of missiles at Israeli targets.
Following decades of proxy warfare and indirect confrontations, the two regional rivals are now engaged in direct military conflict at an intensity never seen before. Speaking from Washington on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said it was “possible” the United States might intervene, but added that it was “not at this instant.”