US sends in submarine as Iran-backed attacks continue in Syria, Iraq

Jared Szuba

Nov 6, 2023

AT SEA - JANUARY 22: The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines January 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas. The Florida is one of four Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines to be converted to guided missile submarines. (Photo by David Nagle/U.S. Navy/Getty Images) — The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided-missile submarines Jan. 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas. — David Nagle/US Navy/Getty Images

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has dispatched an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine to Middle Eastern waters, the latest addition in a significant buildup of American and allied military forces in the region as Washington seeks to prevent Iran and its proxies from piling on Israel's war in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday US Central Command released imagery of the ship, which a spokesperson for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet declined to identify. Open-source observers and Fox News suggested the vessel was the USS Florida, which is capable of carrying and delivering more than 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles and a Navy SEAL team.

Historically, the Pentagon has rarely disclosed the location of its missile submarines, but has made their presence in the Middle East known as tensions have grown with Iran in recent years.

The Florida was last reported to have passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea in April.