The U.S. Navy has sent a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East with the capability to carry up to 154 Tomahawk missiles, in what appears to be a display of strength towards Iran following recent tensions. The location or purpose of the submarine’s deployment has not been disclosed, as the Navy rarely acknowledges such details. The nuclear-powered vessel passed through the Suez Canal to reach the 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, and will help maintain regional maritime security and stability. The Strait of Hormuz, which 20% of all oil transits through, falls under the patrol of the 5th Fleet, which also monitors the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen and the Red Sea up to the Suez Canal. The U.S., UK and Israel have accused Iran of targeting oil tankers and commercial ships in recent years, while the U.S. Navy has reported several tense interactions at sea with Iranian forces. Last month, the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iran-backed forces in Syria, following a rocket attack that killed an American contractor and injured seven others. The Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can travel up to 2,500 km, have been used in major military operations in the past, such as the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the retaliation for a Syrian chemical weapons attack in 2018.