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, bound for the Indian Ocean, according to ship spotters. The carrier is sailing to the Middle East, a defense official told USNI News.

The Washington-based carrier was already scheduled to sail to U.S. Central Command to eventually relieve USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), which deployed in mid-November and will need to head home soon.

Nimitz was operating in the South China Sea last week, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker. As of Monday morning, Vinson is operating in the Arabian Sea with the cruiser and three destroyers that make up the Vinson Carrier Strike Group.

Nimitz‘s transit through the Singapore Strait comes several days after Israel struck Iran’s nuclear sites to degrade Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.