The United States called Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates “major security partners” early Saturday, a previously unheard of designation for the two countries home to major American military operations.
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.
The unusual transit in the Persian Gulf's shallow waters comes some two weeks before the anniversary of the American drone strike in January that killed a top Iranian military commander.
The U.S. accuses the group of trying to overthrow Bahrain’s government and plotting terrorist attacks on Americans in the country, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.