By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Joanna Plucinska and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling aircraft to Europe to provide options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions erupt into conflict between Iran and Israel,

U.S. refueling aircraft and warships have been dispatched to safeguard U.S. interests as the deadly conflict shows no sign of abating.

Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran will likely lead to increases in gas prices in Florida and across the nation. Florida gas prices are the lowest in a month, according to AAA - The Auto Club, but face upward pressure heading into this week.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday he had ordered the deployment of additional defensive capabilities to the Middle East, as the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran drives regional tensions higher.

The USS Nimitz carrier strike group is heading to the Middle East, a U.S. official said, joining the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which arrived in the region in April. The Vinson is set to return home after an overlap period of several days or weeks,

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus has received requests to assist in the evacuation of citizens of Portugal and Slovakia from the Middle East, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Monday.

The dollar strengthened against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc on Monday, but weakened against most major currencies, as investors monitored the fighting between Israel and Iran for signs it could escalate into a broader regional conflict and braced for a week packed with central bank meetings.

The U.S. military is also sending aircraft to the Middle East and Europe in case they are needed to support U.S. installations overseas.