U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday forcefully rejected claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that ballistic missiles had struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, calling the assertion a “LIE” and confirming the vessel remains fully operational in the Arabian Sea.
CENTCOM said that while Iran had launched missiles towards the carrier, they didn’t even come close to the vessel. In an official statement posted on X, CENTCOM stated, “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.”
🚫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… pic.twitter.com/AjaeHMemtA— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2026
The post included images showing wide-angle views of the carrier’s flight deck bustling with flight-crew members in brightly colored jerseys, and dramatic shots of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA-41) taxiing, preparing for launch, and catapulting off the deck with afterburners glowing against the open ocean.
The IRGC’s claim came hours earlier as part of what Tehran described as retaliatory strikes following U.S. and Israeli operations that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state media and the IRGC announced that four ballistic missiles had hit the Nimitz-class carrier, with one statement warning that “the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors.” IRGC had claimed, “The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles.”
U.S. officials, including CENTCOM and the Pentagon, have denied this claim, stating the missiles missed by a significant margin and that no damage was sustained. Multiple independent reports corroborated that the Abraham Lincoln continues normal flight operations in support of ongoing missions.
The incident is part of a rapidly escalating conflict dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by U.S. forces, which has already seen the U.S. Navy sink an Iranian warship and reports of the first American combat deaths in the campaign, three U.S. service members killed, according to military sources.
