Fact check: Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln not struck, CENTCOM rejects Iranian claims
Claims that the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was struck by Iranian missiles are false, according to United States Central Command (CENTCOM). The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had asserted that the vessel was targeted in retaliation for joint American and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
In an X post, CENTCOM dismissed the attack, saying, “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”
IRGC claims retaliatory strikes
On Sunday, the IRGC claimed that four ballistic missiles had struck the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf, warning that “the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors.” The announcement, circulated through local media, described the action as part of a “new phase” of operations against “American-Zionist enemy targets.”
“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 read, also carried by AFP.
USS Abraham Lincoln’s deployment
The USS Abraham Lincoln has been stationed in the Gulf region, with reports indicating it spent recent weeks in the Arabian Sea. Normally, the carrier is homeported at Naval Air Station North Island in California, according to Fox 5 San Diego.
The vessel is part of a broader US naval build-up in the region. Earlier this year, the Lincoln, alongside three guided-missile destroyers, was deployed to strengthen the regional fleet. It was later joined by the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, along with additional destroyers shifted from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean.
Regional tensions escalate
The heightened confrontation follows the killing of Ali Khamenei by joint US-Israeli strikes, prompting Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel, US military installations across the Gulf, and commercial hubs such as Dubai. Israel has simultaneously intensified strikes on Tehran.
Unrest has also spilled beyond Iran’s borders. In Pakistan, at least nine people were reported dead after protesters stormed the US consulate. The coordinated attacks over the weekend have sent ripples through global markets and stoked fears over international energy supplies.
Earlier in the escalation, US President Donald Trump commented on the events, urging Iranians to “take over” and describing the situation as an opportunity for political change.
The escalation occurred just days after renewed US-Iran nuclear talks, as Washington pressed Tehran to curb its atomic programme amid domestic unrest within the country.