A British nuclear-powered submarine equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles has taken position in the Arabian Sea, giving Britain the capability to launch long-range strikes if regional conflict escalates, the Daily Mail reports.
Reuters cannot immediately verify the report. The British Ministry of Defense does not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
HMS Anson, armed with Tomahawk Block IV missiles and Spearfish torpedoes, left Perth earlier this month and travelled roughly 5,500 miles to the region, the Daily Mail says.
The submarine surfaces periodically to communicate with the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, where any launch order would be authorized by the prime minister and conveyed by the chief of joint operations, the report adds.
The deployment comes after Downing Street authorized the US to use British bases for strikes on Iranian sites threatening the Strait of Hormuz.
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