Fears of an all-out Middle East war have heightened after America dispatched refuelling tankers across the Atlantic.
Images appear to show a mass deployment of US Air Force vessels with at least 30 moved east according to tracking data.
Tankers are required to refuel aircraft participating in strikes far away from bases.
Among the assets being moved were KC-135 Stratotankers, which extend the reach and endurance of other military aircraft by providing mid-air refuelling capabilities, and a number of Boeing KC-46 Pegasus refuelling and strategic military transport aircraft developed by Boeing from its 767 jet airliner.
The move comes as Israel and Iran continue to fire a volley of missiles at each other in a raging tit-for-tat war.
Two women and one man – all aged in their 70s – were killed in rocket strikes across four sites in central Israel in the latest salvo launched by Tehran.
Missiles hit an apartment block in Petah Tikva, about six miles east of Tel Aviv.
Iranian state TV said the country fired at least 100 missiles at Israel in a clear indication it has no intention of yielding to international calls for de-escalation as it continued with its retaliation for Israel’s surprise Operation Rising Lion to obliterate its burgeoning nuclear programme and military high command.
The latest salvo comes after a weekend of escalating tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran that raised fears of a wider, more dangerous regional war.
President Donald Trump said he hopes Israel and Iran can broker a deal but said sometimes countries have to fight it out first.
Speaking as he left for the G7 summit in Canada, Mr Trump said America will continue to support the defence of Israel but declined to say if he had asked it to pause strikes on Iran.
He said: “I hope there’s going to be a deal. I think it’s time for a deal and we’ll see what happens. Sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re gonna see what happens.”
America has an ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Tehran and its proxies.
In a post on his Truth Social site Mr Trump reiterated that commitment, saying: “If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the US Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.
“However, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict.”
Britain, which has a significant military air base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, has moved combat jets and other military aircraft to the Middle East.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “We are moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support in the region. I will be clear-eyed in relation to our duties and obligations, and my duties as the prime minister of the United Kingdom.”
