Earlier this week the Bulletin reported that there has been a big increase in the number of U.S. military aircraft over-flying Mallorca operating from U.S. bases on the mainland. The aircraft involved are mostly tanker and transport planes usually heading from bases on the mainland to Italy and further afield.
And today, sentdefender reported that U.S. tankers have just hit Spain’s Rota base and that they are now escorting 12 F-16 jets across to the Mediterranean, some through Balearic airspace. “Reinforcements rolling in hot, and Iran’s sweating,” the source stated with tracker images of the fighter jets’ path.
Furthermore, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, which visited Palma last October, and its strike group are moving from the Caribbean toward the Middle East as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Iran. The move would place two aircraft carriers and their accompanying warships in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East more than two weeks ago.
After deploying from Norfolk, Virginia, in June 2025, the Ford was moved from Palma to the Caribbean last autumn as the Trump administration assembled a major military presence before launching strikes on Venezuela and capturing President Nicolás Maduro. The United States has now issued new threats against Tehran after a second round of nuclear talks, as Iran and Russia announced joint naval drills in the Sea of Oman to deter any “unilateral action” in the region.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that “Iran would be very wise to make a deal” with US President Donald Trump, after indirect talks in the Swiss city of Geneva ended without a significant breakthrough. Trump – who has deployed two US aircraft carriers and thousands of troops to the Gulf region – escalated his rhetoric on social media.
“Should Iran decide not to make a Deal,” the US may need to use an Indian Ocean airbase in the Chagos Islands, “in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime”, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. A previous negotiating effort collapsed last year when Israel launched attacks on Iran, triggering a 12-day war that Washington joined in by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Trump issued new threats of military action in January following a deadly Iranian crackdown on antigovernment protesters. Tehran responded by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz – a vital oil export route for Gulf oil – and warning it could strike US military bases in the region. The exchange heightened fears of a regional war and prompted diplomatic efforts by Gulf states, including Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to prevent escalation.