Nuclear submarines and nuclear weapons are the ultimate tools of statecraft in a world in which states like Iran are capable of deploying nuclear weapons to attack any country, from North Korea to Ukraine, the U,S.
and Israel say.
They say the submarines and missiles pose the greatest risk to U.N. Security Council resolutions or to regional peace and security.
The U.K. and France also have nuclear submarines, but only one of those, the SSBN, is deployed in the Mediterranean.
Iran has a handful of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, but it has not deployed them to any Mediterranean ports.
They are all hidden in shipping lanes or in hidden bunkers.
But they pose the most significant threat to the region’s sea lanes, according to the U and U.A.E. nations.
The countries have agreed to a comprehensive plan to counter the Iranian threat by early 2018.
U.T.R.A., the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, said the plan would involve building two nuclear submarines and several missiles in the Black Sea, and adding three more submarines and an additional missile to the fleet by the end of 2020.
The submarine plans are part of the nuclear triad that includes the U-2 spy plane, the submarine-launched B-1B bomber, and the B-2 stealth bomber.
Iran is developing nuclear-tipped B-4 stealth bombers, which could be armed with a nuclear weapon.
Iran says it has made significant progress on its nuclear program and has begun enriching uranium.
But it has yet to demonstrate it can build a bomb and has repeatedly called for negotiations to end the sanctions that have crippled its economy and hurt its ability to fund its nuclear weapons program.
The European Union and Russia have urged Tehran to halt its nuclear activities.
But Tehran has resisted, saying it needs to maintain the ability to enrich uranium.
Iran insists that its program is peaceful and has refused Western allegations that it is seeking a nuclear bomb.