This is theater for the Russian and American public. Neither act is actually militarily provocative at all. The US knew when the Russians left port, followed them the whole way to Cuba, and knew there was nothing significant on board. The US waited a day to reveal its nearby attack sub and described its port call as routine, no provocation.
It’s politically provocative only because Russia should stay the f out of America’s curtilage. It’s a third rate shithole country that gets respect only because it represents a culture that would have no quams about nuking a frew western cities in retaliation for hurt feelings, no quams about sending tens of millions of their kids to go die in war. They are respected the same way you respect a guy walking around in public yelling angrily to himself.