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.
