USS Abraham Lincoln hit by Iranian strikes? US shares photos amid Tehran's repeated claims

Did Iran strike the US's major aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln? Claims and counterclaims emerged as Iran said its missiles had struck the aircraft carrier.

Iran-based Tehran Times quoted a spokesperson of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters as saying on Friday, "The USS Abraham Lincoln was targeted by the naval forces of the IRGC [Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and was rendered inoperable."

"The carrier has left the region and is currently returning to the United States," the spokesperson reportedly claimed.

According to NDTV, the Iranian military's Central Headquarters of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said that a precision operation involving advanced missiles and drones struck the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier approximately 340 kilometres from Iran's maritime borders in the Sea of Oman.

The report further cited Iran's state TV as reporting that following the strike, the US vessel and its accompanying strike group were seen "fleeing the area at high speed".

However, the USS has dismissed the claim.

What did the US say?

Soon after Iran's statement, the US Central Command posted a few images of the USS Abraham Lincoln and wrote, “The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group continues to support Operation Epic Fury and project power from the sea.”

Meanwhile, CBS News reported, citing sources, that an Iranian vessel sailed too close to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, and the US fired at the vessel.

The officials reportedly claimed that a US Navy vessel attempted to fire on the Iranian vessel using its 5-inch, 54-calibre Mark-45 gun, a fully automated naval cannon that is mounted to the forward deck of Navy destroyers and cruisers and has served as the fleet's standard deck gun since the early 1970s.

The report noted that the USS Spruance and the USS Michael Murphy, both destroyers, are embarked with the Abraham Lincoln, which is operating in the Arabian Sea in support of US military actions against Iran.

However, six other guided-missile destroyers were operating in the Arabian Sea as of last week.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is one of two American aircraft carriers deployed to the Middle East. The Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the region in late January, part of what President Donald Trump described as an "armada."

The US Central Command has multiple times refuted Iran's claim of hitting USS Abraham Lincoln.

Earlier on 7 March, it posted a photo of the carrier from the Arabian Sea and said, "First the Iranian regime claimed and re-claimed (five days in a row) that it sank USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Now, the regime claims the aircraft carrier has miraculously resurfaced and "left the battlefield" after 'encountering Iranian missiles and drones.' NEED WE SAY MORE?

Before this, on 1 March, CENTCOM said, "Iran’s IRGC claims to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles. LIE."

"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," it added.