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Indra Beaufort / AP
The USS Georgia traverses the strategically vital waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.
A US nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine has traversed the strategically vital waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, the US Navy says, in a rare announcement that comes amid rising tensions with Iran.
The Bahrain-based Navy’s Fifth Fleet said the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Georgia, accompanied by two other warships, passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage through which one-fifth of the US Navy travels. world oil supplies.
The unusual transit in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, intended to underscore American military might in the region, follows the assassination last month of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian scientist appointed by the West as the leader of the Republic’s dissolved military nuclear program. Islamic
It also comes about two weeks before the anniversary of the US drone attack in January that killed Iran’s top military commander, General Qassem Soleimani.
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Indra Beaufort / AP
The guided-missile submarine USS Georgia, in the lead, with the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal, transits the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
Iran has vowed to seek revenge for both killings.
The presence of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine in Middle East waterways indicates the “commitment of the US Navy to regional partners and maritime security,” the navy said, demonstrating its readiness “to defend itself against any threat in any moment”.
The USS Georgia is armed with 154 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles and can house up to 66 special operations forces, the Navy added.
Senior Airman Keifer Bowes / AP
Two US B-52 bombers flew over a swath of the Middle East in early December, sending what US officials say is a message of deterrence to Iran. (File photo)
Earlier this month, the US military flew two bomber planes to the Middle East on a mission that US officials described as a deterrent message to Iran.
The displays of military might are meant to signal America’s continued commitment to the Middle East even as President Donald Trump’s administration withdraws thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Fifth Fleet covers an area of 6.5 million square kilometers, traversing the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.
