Iran on Thursday claimed that the missiles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy struck the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln near the Strait of Hormuz as it approached the area from the Gulf of Oman.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES

A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, quoted byTehran Times, said the aircraft carrier was targeted by missiles while it was operating 340 km from Iran’s maritime borders near the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran has presented no evidence to support its claims.

The spokesperson said that the attack prompted the vessel and its accompanying destroyers to withdraw rapidly from the area. The spokesperson claimed the ships fled at high speed and have since moved more than 1,000 km away from the location. The US military has responded to the claim so far.

The United States military has previously rejected similar Iranian statements about attacks on the carrier, saying the missiles or drones involved did not come close to hitting the vessel.

Iran launched hundreds of missiles across the region, targeting USS Abraham Lincoln and other US and Israeli facilities, in retaliation for the joint strikes on February 28 that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian officials.

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Earlier, Iranian state media reported that four ballistic missiles were fired toward the carrier. However, the US Central Command stated that the missiles did not come close to the vessel, which continues operating in the area.

The carrier was sent to the Gulf in the end of January as part of what President Donald Trump called an “armada" which was moved to the region “just in case" as tensions spiked over Iran’s crackdown on those protesting about the country’s economy.

This came after a dramatic escalation into the war between US-Israel and Iran, after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people.

A Sri Lankan official identified the boat as the frigate IRIS Dena, saying it had been heading back to Iran from India. Local authorities said 32 people had been rescued while 87 bodies had been recovered. About 60 sailors were unaccounted for from the estimated 180-strong crew.

Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News