A US nuclear-armed submarine believed to be USS Alaska docked at the British naval base in Gibraltar on 10 May, placing the UK 'at risk' as Donald Trump uses the deployment to threaten Iran, according to a British security expert. Professor Anthony Glees, an intelligence and defence specialist at the University of Buckingham, argued the move was part of a deliberate attempt by Trump to intimidate Tehran with the presence of a ballistic missile submarine in range of Iranian targets.
The submarine's arrival in Gibraltar came amid Trump's wider push to confront Iran and wind down what he has called his 'stupid and failed war with Israel against Iran.' The US president has repeatedly signalled he wants a new deal with Tehran, and he appears to be leaning on high‑profile military signalling rather than quiet diplomacy. The choice of Gibraltar is not incidental. It is a British Overseas Territory, home to a strategically important Royal Navy base, and well within the envelope of any escalation involving Iran and its network of allied groups.
