TEHRAN, April 20. /TASS/. The Iranian Navy has forced the USS Florida, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz, to surface, the Iranian Navy’s Commander Amir Shahram Irani said.
"The submarine was approaching the Strait of Hormuz in complete silence under water. The Iranian submarine The Fateh detected it and forced it to the surface to cross the strait on the surface," the Tasnim news agency quoted Irani as saying on Thursday.
He also noted that The Florida had changed course and continued on its way, accompanied by an Iranian submarine.
"Since the [U.S.] submarine was close to Iranian territorial waters, it received the appropriate warning, changed course and continued on its way with an escort," Irani said.
In early April, the US Navy announced its decision to send the nuclear-powered submarine The Florida to the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain. According to the US statement, the submarine’s mission will be to patrol the Middle East region.
The Florida is armed with nuclear-capable cruise missiles.