Pentagon press secretary Paty Ryder held a news briefing on Tuesday as U.S. officials deny that a submarine that entered waters in the Middle East is armed with nuclear weapons.
The event is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET. Watch in the player above.
The Ohio-class submarine that U.S. Central Command announced had sailed into Middle East waters on Sunday is an SSGN, a guided missile submarine variant that is not capable of firing nuclear weapons, a defense official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
The vessel was photographed as it transited the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, the defense official said.
On Monday, Pentagon press secretary Brig . Gen. Pat Ryder said the submarine would provide "further support our deterrence efforts in the region."
Although it's not unusual for a U.S. submarine to transit the canal, Central Command's online statement acknowledging the location of an Ohio-class submarine is rare. There are Ohio-class submarines that can fire nuclear weapons known as SSBN, or ballistic missile submarine variants.