The US denied a claim by Iran’s navy that it was forced to surface a nuclear-powered submarine in the Strait of Hormuz oil choke point.
(Bloomberg) — The US denied a claim by Iran’s navy that it was forced to surface a nuclear-powered submarine in the Strait of Hormuz oil choke point.
In a statement published on Twitter on Thursday, US Naval Forces Central Command said an earlier claim by the Islamic Republic was “absolutely false,” adding that no US submarines have recently transited the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for energy exports.
Admiral Shahram Irani, commander of the Iranian Army’s Naval Forces, told state TV earlier on Thursday that an Iranian Fateh-class submarine detected the USS Florida with sonar after it partially entered Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf, forcing it to transit the strait at surface level.
He said Iran expects an explanation from US officials for the “dangerous and unprofessional” action.
The US said on April 8 that it deployed the submarine — capable of carrying as many as 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles — to the region to “ensure regional maritime security and stability.”
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Last month the US conducted air strikes on Iran-linked forces in Syria, after a drone allegedly made by Iran crashed into a coalition base.
(Updates with denial from US navy.)
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