By Madu Onuorah
Amid the Israel-Hamas war, the US military has announced the entry of a guided missile submarine into the Middle East, a rare move directed at regional adversaries, primarily those backed by Iran. The subs can be equipped with advanced ballistic or Tomahawk cruise missiles.
U.S. Central Command on Sunday (Nov 5) declared on social media that an Ohio-class submarine entered its area of responsibility even as Secretary of State Antony Blinken tours the region. Blinken has so far visited Israel, the West Bank, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Cyprus in his second trip to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
The Ohio-class is a set of nuclear-powered submarines that can carry up to 24 Trident II D5 nuclear missiles.
These submarines are known for their stealth and ability to operate quietly beneath the ocean’s surface, which renders them undetectable to adversaries.
On October 8, in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, the Biden administration authorized the deployment of USS Gerald R. Ford, the U.S. Navy’s most advanced and largest aircraft carrier, to the Eastern Mediterranean as a show of support for Israel.
“We’ll make sure that they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves,” U.S. President Joe Biden said.
On October 21, another carrier strike group, USS Dwight Eisenhower, which was on its way towards the Middle East region at the end of its six-month deployment, had its tour of duty extended for an indeterminate period and redirected to the Arabian Sea to “assist in the defense of Israel.”
Together, both carrier strike groups have nine escorts, meaning that the U.S. government has now deployed a very extensive range of naval force in the Eastern Mediterranean, one of the greatest concentrations of power in the Eastern Mediterranean in 40 years.
In fact, the Biden administration is moving the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to the area. It has also been reported that the command ship USS Mount Whitney has deployed in support of Eastern Mediterranean operations, which suggests that the US might form a joint task force in the region with a senior officer taking command of that effort at sea on the command ship.
This combined force represents one of the largest US naval deployments in these waters since June 1983, when four US carrier groups were in the Eastern Mediterranean and, later in the year, when two carriers and the battleship USS New Jersey bombed and shelled terrorist positions in Lebanon.
And with these armada of deployment of America’s largest warships led by the carrier strike groups and the nuclear missile guided submarine, this is turning out to being the largest concentration of America’s war machine in one region, possibly since World War Two (WW2). And indications are that more are coming.
This is making many harbor fears of a rehearsal of a World War Three (WW3). Already, the warships have shown that they are not just a demonstration force deployment. On October 19, the destroyer USS Carney shot down cruise missiles and drones in the Northern Red Sea. The U.S. Navy (USN) said the munitions had been launched from Yemen and were potentially aimed at Israel.
Meanwhile, on October 27, 2023, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has warned that World War III may start from the Middle East if the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalates.
Lakashenko, one of the closest allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted in BelTA to have said when asked about the escalation in the region: “There could be a third world war. It can start from there. In what way? If they [Israel and their allies] start a war with Iran. It is not Iran that is stirring trouble, but it is them who are finding trouble with Iran. What are you talking about? Do you have any facts that Iran had anything to do with it [the attack of Hamas fighters on Israeli territories]? Corner us with facts. No one has produced the facts against Iran…
“Therefore, the confusion is big. If the Americans, having brought in these strike air groups, aircraft carriers, start bombing some countries, especially Iran, from the Mediterranean Sea (although I don’t think they are crazy), Iran will respond. The aircraft carrier may not survive in the Mediterranean. It may sink. It’s a disaster.
“Therefore, there are a lot of things that indicate that a serious conflict can break out, maybe a war with the use of the most serious weapons. No one knows how events will unfold. Even those who made this mess there, the Americans, do not know what it will result in,” the Belarusian President said.
“But on the spot, the Arabs, Shiites and others, send warning signals to them. They are also striking at the American bases in Syria. They warn them: we are not the same as we were 10 years ago,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.