The article is playing fast and loose as well.

The US Navy has dispatched a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East.

The posting was revealed by the military in an announcement late on Sunday. The unusual revelation regarding the location of the ship, which can launch nuclear missiles

SSGNs are incapable of launching the missiles the article is thinking of. I suppose one could outfit the boat with the nuclear TLAM-D, but i doubt the Navy would bother.

And there's no chance in hell an SSBN, the actual sub with SLBMs on it, is going to surface anywhere and pop open a missile hatch (the missiles are launched submerged).

Article is bunk, a GN showed up somewhere and is ready to put tomahawks through windows, business as usual for one of those boats. Show of force? Yes? Show of nuclear warhead force? No.

Sauce - Submariner.

Also sub fun fact, the 4 SSGNs in the US Navy are the Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Georgia. They have a building in Bangor for them, lovingly called the OMFG building.