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USS Nimitz carrier strike group sailing toward Middle East ahead of schedule, US official says
Trey Yingst: Iran is running out of options
Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst provides an update on Israel and Iran trading missile strikes after Israel eliminated top Iranian officials and their energy infrastructure while targeting nuclear sites.
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The USS Nimitz carrier strike group is on its way to the Middle East from the South China Sea, a U.S. official told Fox News.
The Nimitz strike group was previously scheduled to replace the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which has been deployed for several months, but is now heading to the Middle East ahead of schedule. The two will now be in the Middle East at the same time.
USS Carl Vinson was the only aircraft carrier in the region as of last Friday, U.S. defense officials told Fox News.
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USS Nimitz (CVN-68), the world’s oldest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, sails out of San Diego Bay to the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 18, 2024. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
USS Nimitz – commissioned on May 3, 1975 – is the oldest active aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. This is possibly its final sea voyage, as the Nimitz is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2026. The deployment is significant because the Nimitz was also deployed in 1980 when its helicopters were part of the failed U.S. effort known as Operation Eagle Claw to rescue the American hostages being held at the US Embassy in Tehran. The U.S. has been in a shadow war against Iran ever since.
USS Nimitz departed the South China Sea on Monday morning and was heading west, Reuters reported, citing data from the ship tracking website Marine Traffic. Two sources, including one diplomat, told Reuters the carrier had been scheduled to attend a formal reception in Danang City, central Vietnam, on June 20.
It has since been canceled.
One of the sources said the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi notified him about the reception being called off due to «an emergent operational requirement.»
The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East amid Israel’s preemptive attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities and leadership and Iran’s retaliatory strikes that have been ongoing for four consecutive days.
A fishing boat passes USS Nimitz (CVN-68) as it sails out of San Diego Bay to the Pacific Ocean to perform readiness drills before returning to its homeport of Naval Base Kitsap on Nov. 18, 2024 in San Diego. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
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American air defense systems and a Navy destroyer helped Israel shoot down ballistic missiles coming in from Iran on Friday, U.S. officials told Fox News.
The U.S. has both ground-based Patriot missile defense systems and Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems in the Middle East capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.
The U.S. Navy also had the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which is capable of defending against ballistic missiles, begin sailing from the western Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern Mediterranean, U.S. officials told Fox News. They said the Navy also had directed another destroyer to move forward so it could be available if requested by the White House.
An Israeli attack on the Shahran oil depot on June 15, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. (Stringer/Getty Images)
One of the officials cited the Nimitz, which was in the Indo-Pacific at the time, as well as USS George Washington, which had just left its port in Japan, as assets the Navy could possibly surge to the Middle East if so ordered.
American fighter jets were also patrolling the sky in the Middle East to protect personnel and installations, and air bases in the region are taking additional security precautions, the officials said.
Typically, around 30,000 troops are based in the Middle East, and about 40,000 troops are in the region now, one of the U.S. officials told The Associated Press. That number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
Former President Joe Biden initially surged ships to protect Israel, a close U.S. ally, following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists. It was seen at the time as a deterrent against Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Iran.
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On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The weekend shootings of the Minnesota lawmakers profoundly rattled House and Senate Members.
The reason?
«Minnesota was jarring because (the suspect) went after family,» said one House Member who has faced threats and asked for anonymity. «We’re gone 50 percent of the time. There are no lines any more.»
There is a Senate-wide briefing on Member security today. House Republicans received a virtual briefing late Saturday afternoon. House Democrats will receive a remote briefing tomorrow.
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The question is what can Congressional security officials do to keep Members safe?
One idea was to force House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to let Member offices have even more flexibility to use money – which Congress allocates for the operation of each office – toward additional security measure. Fox is told that could enable individual offices to hire full-time protective details.
«Then they don’t need to give us any more money,» said one House Member.
The murders of state Rep. Melissa Hortman, D-Minn., and her husband, and the attempted murders of state Sen. John Hoffman, D-Minn., and his wife, over the weekend, left Capitol Hill profoundly shaken. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
One Democrat applauded the U.S. Capitol Police. But pointed out that it was physically impossible for the USCP to protect all Members and their families 24/7 – both in Washington and in their home states or districts.
It was also pointed out to Fox that there was zero information on the shooters who carried out two of the most violent episodes involving lawmakers in recent years. That includes the Congressional Baseball Practice shooting in 2017 and the shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in 2011.
«We need to be pro-active on our own,» said one lawmaker to Fox. «Not reactive.»
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Fox is told there has also been discussion about scrubbing the personal information of lawmakers from the web or approving anti-doxxing legislation.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) is tinkering with forcing the House into a «Secret Session» to debate the appropriate approach for congressional security. Such a resolution to move the House into a Secret Session needs a vote. It is also privileged – which means Moskowitz could force the issue. Or, the House could vote to table it. Staff inside the session must sign an oath of secrecy.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., is eyeing the idea of forcing the House into «Secret Session» to debate best practices for Congressional security. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The House has not held a clandestine session since 2008 – and only six such conclaves in the history of the republic. Moskowitz would like to get Members on the record of voting AGAINST a Secret Session for security. If they oppose it, then lawmakers don’t have a right to complain. Otherwise, he believes they can actually figure out a way to keep fellow Members safe and their families. Several lawmakers with whom Fox spoke over the weekend said the problem is that there is no consensus on how or what Members want or if U.S. Capitol Police have the wherewithal – based on what Congress has appropriated for that department – to assure the safety of family Members in 435 far-flung districts.
Capitol Police manpower is another hot point of debate. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Moreover, security officials and those on the GOP telephone call Saturday tell Fox there was a lot of criticism by Members about the current security posture – from those who don’t take advantage of current programs which the House and USCP designed to keep Members safe.
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«They like to complain a lot,» said one Republican source of those who haven’t utilized the security options afforded them by USCP.
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Some of the most influential evangelical leaders in the U.S. told Fox News Digital that they believe President Donald Trump’s support for Israel is unwavering as the Jewish state finds itself at war with Iran.
Speaking before and after the start of Israel’s military campaign against the regime, the leaders highlighted the millennialong connection of the Jewish people to their historical homeland, while also emphasizing the shared values rooted in biblical teachings.
The evangelical community helped deliver the White House to President Donald Trump and, therefore, believes his administration should support Israel’s biblical rights to its historical heartland of Judea and Samaria, Dr. Mike Evans, founder of Friends of Zion, told Fox News Digital.
«We hold strongly to that stand. President Trump won because of the Evangelical vote. There are 52 million of us in America, and we are Bible believers,» he continued. «Jesus said, ‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,’» he said. His organization claims nearly 30 million members.
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An Israeli soldier attaches an Israeli flag on top of an armored personnel carrier near Israel’s border with Gaza, in southern Israel, on Monday, April 15, 2024. (AP)
Evans praised the president’s stance on Iran, saying, «The Trump strategy is brilliant because he’s giving Iran a way out, but he’s not taking it off the table that the U.S. will bomb Iran. Quite the contrary, he’s made it very clear that if Iran does anything to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East or Americans, they will have hell to pay.»
Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, which numbers 10 million members, told Fox News Digital that Israel has long been a central concern for American evangelicals, a priority that has only intensified since the 9/11 attacks and more recently in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre. For evangelical Christians, he said, support for Israel is rooted in religious conviction rather than political ideology. They view appeasement of Iran or engagement with terrorists not just as flawed policy, but as morally wrong and fundamentally evil.
Just days before Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, and amid isolationist criticism against Israel, Hagee told Fox News Digital, «I do not think President Trump will allow himself to be played by Iranian negotiators or American isolationists. When it’s all said and done, I believe President Trump is willing to do what it takes to ensure Iran is defanged either by enabling our strongest ally, Israel, to defend itself or otherwise.»
Israeli air defenses seen in the skies over northern Israel during an Iranian missile attack. June 16, 2025. (Photos by Anthony Hershko/TPS-IL)
Following Israel’s surprise attack on Iran, Hagee released a recorded message as part of an action alert asking his supporters to contact President Trump, thank him for his support of Israel and urge him to continue.
«We must stand with Israel today and every day. Iran’s future as an evil force in the Middle East is now in question. Only the people of Iran can take the country back. But Israel has opened the door for them and given the world room to breathe. Now the U.S. must take its seat at the head of the international table and stand alongside the only American ally in the free world willing to do what is necessary to protect the free world,» Hagee said.
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Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted about the growing threat Iran poses to both Israel and the United States on X.
«Iran has said that they want to wipe Israel off the face of the map. They would also like to destroy America. Iran is a sponsor of terror … Israel has been forced into defending itself and needs our prayers,» he added. «All of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him should ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ (Psalm 122:6). Pray that this can be resolved quickly.»
Graham pointed to the long connection of the Jewish people to their historic homeland, while also emphasizing the shared values rooted in biblical teachings.
From left to right, Franklin Graham, Dr. Mike Evans and Pastor John Hagee are urging President Donald Trump to continue backing Israel as the Jewish state fights a war against Iran. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | Mike Evans; Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images | John Hagee; CUFI/Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, TX.)
«Most evangelical Christians believe the Bible and, of course, we believe Genesis, we believe God gave the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that every inch of that land belongs to the Jews,» Graham told Fox News Digital.
He underscored the importance of continued U.S. support for Israel, citing both strategic and democratic considerations.
«The U.S. government has supported Israel since it became a nation, and for that support to continue is extremely important. It’s the only democracy in the Middle East, the only place where elections are held. No one else in that part of the world has the kinds of freedoms that Israelis have,» Graham said.
Evans, also quoting scripture, noted that, «In Genesis chapter 12, God said, ‘I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.’ Evangelicals believe that pressuring Israel to give up land will bring a curse on America. If they have to choose between God’s word and anyone else’s, they will choose God’s word,» he said.
Hagee also cited biblical teachings that promise blessings for those who bless Israel, framing the principle as both a spiritual conviction and a practical truth.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 5, 2020. Khamenei said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan will not outlive the president. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
«Consider the tangible results that cannot be denied—whether through intelligence and technology sharing or fighting on the front lines of the global war on terror, America has been blessed by supporting Israel in numerous ways. If we turn our backs on Israel, not only will God turn His back on America, but we will lose freedom’s foothold in the Middle East,» he told Fox News Digital.
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Hagee noted that the issue has become deeply personal for many in the United States, especially in light of recent antisemitic attacks on American soil. These include the terror incident in Boulder, Colorado, where an illegal Egyptian immigrant injured 15 people with Molotov cocktails during a march supporting hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as the fatal shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., which claimed the lives of two staff members from the Israeli Embassy.
«We expect Congress to take up meaningful legislation aimed at combating the scourge of violent antisemitism raging across the country,» Hagee said.
He condemned the political delays surrounding the Antisemitism Awareness Act and the lack of progress on the Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act, which would prohibit federal agencies from engaging with companies that promote a boycott of Israel.
«That Congress continues to dither here is shameful,» Hagee said.
For his part, Evans told Fox News digital that another issue that the Trump administration appears to be confronting aggressively: a French-Saudi-sponsored conference to push for the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Pastor John Hagee speaks during «March For Israel» at the National Mall on Nov. 14, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
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«We’re not overly concerned, because we know the president will oppose this move at the U.N. Security Council,» he said. «The United States will not back a Palestinian state at this time, as the entire premise of statehood has been based on land-for-peace—a concept that assumes Israel can secure peace by relinquishing territory. But Israelis have given up land and lost lives in the process, and it hasn’t worked.»
«Israel is facing an existential threat and can no longer capitulate or play the land-for-peace game. Palestinians can lead a better life, as we’ve seen with Israeli Arabs, who have a better quality of life in Israel than anywhere else in the Middle East,» Evans continued. «The only way forward is if they stop resorting to terrorism, and we believe the president supports this position of moral clarity, as do all Evangelicals.»
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