The alleged attack followed the death of Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they have attacked the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf following strikes that killed the country’s supreme leader.
“The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles,” the Guards said in a statement carried by local media, warning that “the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors.”
Authorities in the US have not confirmed the claim of the alleged strike.
However US Central Command has blasted the claim as a “lie” the Mirror reports, as authorities in the US have not confirmed the claim of the alleged strike. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by local media: “The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles.”
They also added: “The land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors.” This follows the death of the country’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
CENTCOM, the US Central Command, has said in a ‘fact check’ that The Lincoln “was not hit” and has slammed the claim as a “lie”.
The statement on X reads: “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 comes as CENTCOM confirmed three US service members had been killed in action, with five more seriously wounded, since Operation Epic Fury began yesterday. As US-Israeli missiles rained down on Iran, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the process, Tehran has launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East – targeting US bases in Dubai, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait.
In a statement, the US military said: “Three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury. Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty.
“Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
Want to see more of the stories you love from Belfast Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives… To add Belfast Live as a preferred source, simply click here.