US deploys guided-missile submarine to West Asia
The United States says a nuclear-powered American guided-missile submarine is operating in West Asia in support of the US Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.
The USS Florida entered the region on Thursday and began transiting the Suez Canal on Friday, Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement on Saturday, according to Reuters.
"It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to US 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability," Hawkins added.
This came after the US Navy relocated a warship in the Mediterranean to the coast near Syria after tensions rose between Tehran and Washington over deadly attacks on Iranian military advisors in Syria.
Iran’s Envoy to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani earlier on Monday warned that the Islamic Republic will take "decisive measures" to protect its forces and interests in Syria against any threats posed by the United States or others.
Last week, two Iranian military advisers stationed in Syria were martyred in an Israeli airstrike near the country’s capital Damascus. Following the attack, the IRGC issued a stern warning to the Israeli regime on Sunday, vowing retaliation for the assassination of its military advisers in Syria.
The relocation of the US warship came as US President Joe Biden claimed in March that the United States was not seeking a conflict with Iran.
ME
