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| In tension with Iran, the US sends the USS Florida submarine to the Middle East |
International Military - The United States (US) says it is deploying cruise missile submarines to the Middle East. It is increasing its naval fleet in the region amid rising tensions with Iran.
According to the US Naval Central Command, based in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, the USS Florida - a nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying as many as 154 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles - began transiting the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday.
"The submarines are deployed in support of the US Fifth Fleet, also based in Bahrain, to ensure regional maritime security and stability," US Naval Central Command said in a statement as quoted by Bloomberg.
A Bahrain-based US Navy spokesperson declined to provide further details about the mission or specify whether the submarine was heading to the Persian Gulf as that would conflict with operational security protocol.
The Pentagon earlier decided to extend the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group in the Mediterranean to give the US more military "options" in the region. Earlier this month, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the Middle East, announced a mission extension saying the George HW Bush carrier strike group would not return to the US on schedule.
Last month, the US military carried out airstrikes against Iranian-backed groups in Syria. It comes after an American contractor was killed in what was said to be an attack by an Iranian-made drone on a US military facility in northeastern Syria. The attack allegedly killed eight "militants", although military spokesman Patrick Ryder was unable to specify which group was targeted during a news conference earlier this week. Iran has denied any involvement in the drone strike, with Keyvan Khosravi, spokesman for Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warning Iran would respond to any attack on its bases in Syria.