Iranian reports said the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying warships pulled back yesterday from their positions near Iranian waters in the Arabian Sea, repositioning closer to the Gulf of Aden.
Iran’s Fars News Agency cited an informed source within Iranian military intelligence as saying that “Abraham Lincoln, along with some accompanying destroyers and submarines, is currently positioned near the Gulf of Aden”, and that “the fleet is about 1,400 kilometres from the port of Chabahar in south eastern Iran”.
The reason for the carrier’s sudden withdrawal remains unclear. The carrier had previously taken part in the war on Yemen last year. However, Reuters quoted an American official as saying that “the US military shot down an Iranian drone after it approached Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea”. The source said the Iranian drone, identified as a Shahed 139, was flying towards the carrier when it was downed by an American F 35 fighter jet.
Security Incident Near the Strait of Hormuz
At the same time, the UK’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported a security incident north of the Sultanate of Oman near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. It said small armed boats attempted to intercept a commercial vessel and made radio contact to force it to change course.
The authority added that the ship’s crew ignored the threats and continued sailing safely, while maritime authorities began investigations to identify those behind the incident and determine further details.
Observers in Sana’a downplayed the significance of the carrier repositioning near Yemen’s territorial waters, saying that “dealing with aircraft carriers has become familiar for Sana’a after the defeat of the American navy in the Red Sea last year”.
A member of the political bureau of Ansar Allah, Hizam al Assad, commented in a post on X on Lincoln’s withdrawal, saying that “when Washington reduces its achievement to the speed of repairing and servicing ships and returning them to service in our region after Yemeni punishment, that is an official declaration of the myth’s fall”. He added that “Abraham Lincoln’s return is not a sign of strength, but another step in liquidating what remains of false prestige”.
Washington Says It Downed an Iranian Drone Near the Carrier
In recent days, the US Navy conducted a joint operational drill with the Israeli navy in the Red Sea over the past two days. According to the occupation army, “its warships carried out the drill with an American destroyer in the Red Sea, as part of cooperation between the Israeli naval forces and the US Fifth Fleet”.
Earlier, United States Central Command said in a statement that the American destroyer Delbert D Black departed the port of Eilat after a routine port visit, describing it as an affirmation of the strong maritime partnership between the United States and Israel and their shared commitment to strengthening security and prosperity in the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Red Sea.
Separately, the Eekad platform reported at the start of this week that it had observed intense activity at the Berbera military base in Somaliland, which has split from Somalia and is recognised by the Israeli entity. It published images it said showed an unprecedented expansion at the base, including ammunition depots and air defence, adding that the port is being militarily reshaped.
This came weeks after intelligence sources in Sana’a confirmed the arrival of an Israeli intelligence team in Bosaso in Somaliland to study the use of the port as a launch point for maritime operations.
