The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy announced on Friday that its ballistic missiles hit the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, rendering it unable to operate and forcing it to withdraw from Gulf waters.
But Washington denied this claim, noting that the aircraft carrier “continues to support Operation Epic Fury.”According to CBS News, a US Navy ship reportedly fired on an Iranian ship sailing near the Abraham Lincoln, although it remains unclear whether the ship was hit. The status of the Iranian ship and its crew is unknown.
On camera: Iranian naval forces attack a US aircraft carrier; Exchanging missiles in direct engagement He watches
Iran’s claim
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that the US Navy carrier was targeted during operations in the region, according to what Anatolia News Agency reported from Iranian media.
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The statement did not provide details about the extent of the damage or potential human losses.Iranian state television reported that following the strike, the US aircraft carrier and its accompanying strike group were seen “escaping the area at high speed.” The report did not provide details about casualties or damage. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard had previously claimed to have hit Lincoln, but the Pentagon denied the previous claim, saying that “the missiles that were fired did not even come close.”
American denial
US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted a photo of Abraham Lincoln, stressing that “the aircraft carrier strike group Abraham Lincoln continues to support Operation Epic Fury and Enterprise Force from the sea.”However, she did not provide any details about the incident.
American warships operating with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea fired on Iranian ships that sailed close to the carrier strike group, US officials told CBS News. Two American officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “An Iranian ship sailed very close to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and the United States opened fire on the ship.”It is not known which naval ship fired at the Iranian vessel, and officials said it missed several times. It is not clear whether they were intended to fire warning shots.The status of the Iranian ship and its crew is not known. The officials explained that a Navy ship attempted to target the Iranian ship using its 5-inch Mark-45 gun, .54 caliber, but missed several times.
A helicopter equipped with Hellfire missiles then bombed the ship with two missiles. The current status of the Iranian ship and its crew remains unknown.The USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is accompanied by two destroyers USS Spruance and USS Michael Murphy, among other ships operating in the Arabian Sea. The carrier strike group arrived in the region in late January as part of a broader U.S. naval presence, which President Trump described as an “armada.”CBS News reported that previous confrontations had raised tensions, including in early February when an Iranian Shahed 139 drone approached the carrier aggressively and was shot down by a US fighter jet. Since the start of US military operations against Iran, more than 90 Iranian ships have reportedly been damaged or destroyed by US forces, according to US Central Command.
