On Sunday (March 1), the United States Central Command refuted the claims made by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran that the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had been hit by a ballistic missile attack.
In a post on X platform on Sunday, the Central Command issued a fact-checking statement, stating that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran’s claim of launching a ballistic missile attack on the USS Abraham Lincoln is a lie.
“The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles fired by Iran did not even come close to the target. The Lincoln will continue to deploy its aircraft to support Central Command’s relentless efforts to defend the American people and eliminate the threat posed by the Iranian regime,” the Central Command post stated.
After the historic airstrike that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps released a sensational statement to local official media, claiming they successfully launched four ballistic missiles, directly hitting the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln anchored in the Gulf, eager to propagate their “victory” through false news to the domestic audience.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is a Nimitz-class carrier with a displacement of over 100,000 tons. This $6.8 billion warship, over 1,000 feet long, is like a floating city of war at sea.
US supercarriers never operate alone, always being protected by a powerful carrier strike group. The Lincoln is currently escorted by three missile destroyers, forming a protective ring to detect and destroy incoming missiles early.
The escort ships are equipped with highly advanced Aegis combat systems. This cutting-edge technology uses hundreds of intercept missiles, including specially designed SM-6 missiles, to shoot down enemy aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic weapons.
The aircraft carrier itself is a vast floating airbase, capable of accommodating up to 90 aircraft. Advanced F-35C stealth fighters and F/A-18 Super Hornets continuously conduct combat air patrols, intercepting potential threats hundreds of miles away.
Any Iranian ballistic missiles would have to penetrate multiple layers of advanced interceptors’ defense before even approaching the carrier’s flight deck.
Iran’s claim is also based on the assumption that aircraft carriers are easy targets in the narrow Persian Gulf. However, open-source intelligence and military tracking data show that the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group operate safely in the wider waters of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, giving its radar systems the largest possible visibility range to track and destroy threats before they pose a danger.
The US Central Command continues to expose Iran’s falsehoods on X platform. In another post released on Sunday, it stated, “Yesterday (February 28) at the United Nations Security Council meeting, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN claimed that their response was solely directed at US military bases and equipment. This is a lie.”
The Central Command wrote in the post that the Iranian regime is actively targeting civilians and has attacked over a dozen locations, including:
– Dubai International Airport
– Kuwait International Airport
– Zayed International Airport in Dubai
– Erbil International Airport in Iraq
– Fairmont Palm Hotel in Dubai
– Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai
– Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bahrain
– Port of Dubai
– Residential areas in Beit Shemesh, Israel
– Residential areas in Tel Aviv, Israel
– Residential area of Era Views Towers in Bahrain
– Residential areas in Qatar
The Central Command also stated, “Over the past 47 years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran has killed over 1,000 Americans. Yesterday (February 28), a massive US airstrike severed the head of this snake. The US has the most powerful military in the world, and the IRGC now has no headquarters.”
“The Iranian regime’s reckless use and proliferation of ballistic missiles have posed a dangerous threat for decades. Now, under the President’s directive, the US military is eliminating this threat,” the Command wrote.