A US Navy submarine packed with Tomahawk missiles is at last in the Middle East a month after it was ordered there to deter Iran

• The guided-missile submarine USS Georgia has finally arrived in the Middle East region.
• A Pentagon official confirmed the sub's presence Tuesday, a month after it was sent to the region.

A heavily armed US Navy submarine has finally entered the Middle East about a month after being ordered to the region, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed Tuesday.

The guided-missile submarine USS Georgia, an Ohio-class vessel armed with over 150 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, has transited into the US Central Command area of responsibility, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a briefing.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the Georgia to the Centcom region last month in a signal of support for Israel and a show of force to Iran and its regional proxies. It's unusual for the US to disclose the movement of its submarines, except in cases where the intention is to send a message to adversaries.

Austin's orders came amid a broader build-up of US military forces in the Middle East after dual assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders in late July.

Iran and its proxies blamed Israel for the killings and vowed revenge, sparking fears that any reprisal could plunge the region into even more violence. Hezbollah and Israel traded strikes last month, but Tehran has yet to retaliate directly.

The Georgia was previously operating in the Mediterranean Sea. It now joins a massive amount of US naval firepower in the Centcom region, including two aircraft carriers, multiple destroyers, and dozens of fighter jets and helicopters.