What Iran described as a “foreign submarine” sneaked into an area where the Iranian Navy was conducting a military exercise near the Strait of Hormuz. The “foreign submarine” was likely the USS Georgia, a nuclear sub that was sent to the region in mid-December as tensions heightened. The USS Georgia is an Ohio Class nuclear sub that is heavily armed. It was filmed by an Iranian helicopter.

Per Zero Hedge:

Helicopter footage of the exercise released by Iran’s navy showed what resembled an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine, the USS Georgia, which the U.S. Navy last month said had been sent to the Persian Gulf — a rare announcement aimed at underscoring American military might in the region…

The details of this announcement and the U.S. Navy task group entering the Persian Gulf was explained in this  12/22/20 post by retired Naval Intelligence office J.E. Dyer.

Per the Iran Project, the Iranian exercise dubbed the “Eghtedar 99’ drill,” was to be a two-day exercise beginning Wednesday. It was set for between the Makran Coast and the northern Indian Ocean.

As J.E. Dyer reported:

The U.S. Navy task group entered the Strait of Hormuz bearing over 150 Tomahawk missiles – and one platform in that group was USS Georgia (SSGN-729), an Ohio-class former ballistic-missile sub converted to carry a large load of Tomahawks.  Georgia was in company with two Ticonderoga-class cruisers, USS Port Royal (CG-73) and USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), which each carry several dozen Tomahawks in their own right.  Georgia probably carries about 100 Tomahawks, but has the capacity to load 154.  If all three platforms were carrying a full complement, about 218 Tomahawks would have entered the Persian Gulf with them.

Now that’s a lot of firepower.

Naval News reported on the “foreign submarine” claim.

The circumstances of the shallow pass are unclear. The submarine is shown at periscope depth. A single DDS (dry deck shelter) is seen on the port side of the casing behind the sail. This hangar can carry SEAL Delivery Vehicles (SDVs) used by the US Navy SEALs.

(…)It is possible that the American submarine gained intelligence of the exercises or other events.

…The Persian Gulf is very shallow in many places and generally seen as less suitable for large submarines. That does not mean that the USS Georgia cannot operate effectively in that environment however, but it may make incidents like this more likely.

On the other hand, perhaps the US Navy wanted the Iranians to know they were being watched-to send a message before Joe Biden starts sucking up to them.

We will continue to follow this story.

Much of this post was first seen at Conservative Firing Line

Iranian military exercise