The U.S. Navy is sending a second carrier strike group to the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran threatens to spiral out of control.The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, along with its nine air squadrons,

U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left the South China Sea on Monday morning heading west, according to data from ship tracking website Marine Traffic, after a reception for its planned port call in central Vietnam was cancelled.

The U.S. Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier is transiting the Strait of Malacca, as Iran and Israel continue to exchange missile fire. USS Nimitz (CVN-68) sailed west through the Singapore Strait Monday,