Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it had attacked the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln after the United States and Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint operation on Saturday.
“The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles,” the Guards said in a statement carried by local media.
The Revolutionary Guard said its strikes against “American-Zionist enemy targets” have entered a “new phase.”
“The powerful strikes of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the weary military body of the enemy have entered a new phase, and land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of terrorist aggressors,” the statement said.
The US Navy has not confirmed any attack on the carrier.
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Where is USS Abraham Lincoln located?
The USS Abraham Lincoln is currently in the Gulf region. According to Fox 5 San Diego, the carrier has been positioned in the Arabian Sea for several weeks. It is homeported at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.
About USS Abraham Lincoln
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) is the fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, named after the 16th US president and the second Navy ship to carry his name.
As a centerpiece of America’s naval power, Nimitz-class carriers “support and operate aircraft that engage in attacks on airborne, afloat, and ashore targets that threaten free use of the sea and engage in sustained power projection operations in support of U.S. and coalition forces.”
Beyond combat, carriers and their strike groups also provide disaster response and humanitarian assistance.
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US-Iran conflict
The United States and Israel conducted a coordinated military operation on Saturday that struck multiple targets in Iran and resulted in the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s killing a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, declared: “The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will teach an unforgettable lesson to the international oppressors.”
US President Donald Trump threatened early Sunday that the United States would respond with unprecedented force if Tehran carried out further attacks in retaliation for Khamenei’s death.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “He was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.”