Kamal Ghorui
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed on Friday that its ballistic missiles struck the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, rendering it non-operational and forcing it to retreat from the Gulf waters. Washington, however, has denied the claim, stating that the aircraft carrier “continues to support Operation Epic Fury.”According to CBS News, a US Navy vessel reportedly fired on an Iranian ship that sailed too close to the Abraham Lincoln, though it remains unclear whether the vessel was hit. The status of the Iranian ship and its crew is unknown.
Iran’s claim
In a statement, the IRGC said the US Navy carrier was targeted during operations in the region, according to AA news citing Iranian media.
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The statement did not provide details on the extent of the damage or possible casualties.Iranian state television reported that following the strike, the US carrier and its accompanying strike group were seen “fleeing the area at high speed.” The report did not provide details on casualties or damage. The IRGC had previously claimed to have struck the Lincoln, but the Pentagon had dismissed the earlier claim, saying the “missiles launched didn’t even come close.”
US denial
US central command (CENTCOM) posted a picture of Abraham Lincoln, asserting: “The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group continues to support Operation Epic Fury and project power from the sea.”However, it did not give any details about the incident. US officials told CBS News that American warships operating with the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea fired upon Iranian vessels that had sailed too close to the carrier strike group. “An Iranian vessel sailed too close to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, and the US fired at the vessel,” said two US officials briefed on the matter, speaking under condition of anonymity.It’s not known which naval vessel fired on the Iranian ship, the officials said it missed multiple times. It isn’t clear whether they were intended as 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 vessel using its 5-inch, 54-caliber Mark-45 gun, but missed multiple times. Subsequently, a helicopter equipped with Hellfire missiles struck the vessel with two missiles. The current status of the Iranian ship and its crew remains unknown.The USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier, is accompanied by destroyers USS Spruance and USS Michael Murphy, among other vessels operating in the Arabian Sea. The carrier strike group arrived in the region in late January as part of a broader US naval presence, described by President Trump as an “armada.”Earlier encounters 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, CBS News reported. Since the start of US military operations against Iran, over 90 Iranian vessels have reportedly been damaged or destroyed by American forces, according to US Central Command.
