A significant buildup of U.S. military aerial assets is underway, with at least 12 KC-135 and 4 KC-46 aerial refueling tankers observed heading east across the continental United States toward the Middle East.

They were accompanied by several Gulfstream command-and-control jets, indicating a high-level coordinated operation.

The scale and nature of the deployment suggest it may be one of the largest transatlantic movements of refueling aircraft by the U.S. Air Force in recent years, underscoring the gravity of the situation in the Middle East as the Israel-Iran conflict intensifies.

Flight tracking data from late Sunday showed the number of tankers en route to the region had exceeded 30, with additional aircraft following through the night.

Aerial refueling platforms like these are essential for sustaining extended-range combat missions, such as those carried out by Israeli jets targeting deep within Iranian territory.

In a related escalation, Israel is suspected of launching a precision strike on an Iranian refueling aircraft stationed at Mashhad Airport, near the borders with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

Satellite images reviewed by The New York Times captured the Boeing 707 intact at the military facility earlier in the day, followed by subsequent visuals showing the aircraft ablaze.

An Israeli military spokesperson later confirmed the operation, saying the strike was part of broader efforts by the Israeli Air Force to assert air superiority across Iranian territory.

This development follows a public appeal by Jewish-American billionaire and philanthropist Bill Ackman, who urged U.S. President Donald Trump to back Israel with military equipment and arms to counter Iran.

Posting on his official X account a day after a major U.S. military parade, Ackman praised the strength of the American armed forces and called for urgent support to help Israel “eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat to the world.”

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated his stance on pursuing a diplomatic resolution with Iran, distancing Washington from recent Israeli military actions.

In a statement posted on his official X account on Friday, June 13, Trump said he had repeatedly urged Iran to accept a nuclear deal, warning of severe consequences if they failed to comply.

“I gave them chance after chance,” he wrote. “I told them, in the strongest of words, to ‘just do it,’ but no matter how hard they tried, they just couldn’t get it done.”

He emphasized that while the U.S. was not involved in the Israeli strikes, Iran should be fully aware of the military capabilities at Israel’s disposal: “The United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and Israel has a lot of it with more to come and they know how to use it.”