UK nuclear-powered submarine positioned in Arabian Sea

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 ​reported on Saturday.

Reuters could not immediately ⁠verify the report. The British Ministry ​of Defence did 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 said.

The submarine surfaces periodically to communicate with the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, where any ​launch order ​would ⁠be authorised by the prime minister and conveyed by the ​chief of joint operations, the ​report ⁠added.

The deployment comes after Downing Street authorised the U.S. to use British ⁠bases for ​strikes on Iranian sites ​threatening the Strait of Hormuz.