The military made a rare announcement that a guided missile submarine had arrived in the Middle East.
U.S. Central Command posted a photo of the Ohio-class submarine on Sunday and said it “arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.” The post did not name which submarine it was, though the Navy only has four Ohio-class guided-missile subs, which are former ballistic missile submarines that were converted to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles instead of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, according to CNN.
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The unusual announcement comes as the Biden administration has increased its presence in the Middle East in recent weeks as it tries to deter adversaries of Israel from entering and broadening Israel’s war with Hamas. It also came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the Middle East trying to rally support from Israel and other regional leaders for a path forward for Israel and Palestinians.
The military has the USS Ford and USS Eisenhower carrier groups in the region, as well as the Bataan amphibious ready group, while 300 troops have been deployed to the region.
“These additional troops will provide capabilities and explosive ordnance disposal, communications, and other support enablers for forces already in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a briefing.
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While the troops are meant to deter various entities from broadening Israel’s conflict, U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria have been targeted by Iranian-backed militia groups. Those proxy groups have fired more than 20 one-way attack drones and rockets. More than 20 U.S. troops were hurt in one such attack, though not seriously, while one U.S. contractor died after suffering cardiac arrest.
The U.S. military, in response to the attacks against its forces, struck two facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in eastern Syria last month. One of the facilities the United States targeted was a “weapons storage area,” while the other was “an ammunition storage area,” according to a senior military official.
