The USS Abraham Lincoln, pictured Oct. 8 in San Diego, set a U.S. Navy record for spending more than 260 consecutive days at sea without a port call, while playing a key role in Operation Epic Fury and maritime security operations in the Middle East region.
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Saudi officials said on Wednesday that the administration building of oil giant Saudi Aramco was targeted overnight as Tehran-backed Houthi militants stepped up attacks on the kingdom.
The attack caused a fire, but no injuries were reported at the scene in the city of Dhahran on the country’s east coast, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said.
The Iranian-backed Houthi militia, based in Yemen, has launched a series of attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia over the past week. The attack on the airport in the capital, Riyadh, resulted in multiple deaths, canceled flights, and property damage. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport will remain closed until Saturday.
Yemen’s civil war has returned to full-scale fighting between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognized government amid broader regional escalation linked to the war between the United States and Iran.
Iran is ‘ biding its time ‘ until it can attack US ships
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) chief Ali Ozmayei said on Wednesday that Iran was ” biding its time ” until it could sink the US warship, according to Iranian state media.
“If the Americans think the Strait of Hormuz is open, they should move closer. We are looking forward to sinking American warships,” Ozmaei was quoted as saying in a television interview.
“We are waiting for a US warship to approach the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz so we can sink it. We are counting down the clock until that happens.”
CNBC has reached out to the White House for comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Islamic Republic is beefing up defenses around sensitive sites such as its nuclear facilities and has told regional officials that it will respond to any new U.S. attacks across the Middle East with retaliatory measures, as Tehran prepares its people for a new war in the coming weeks.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. military will not attack Iran before the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
On Wednesday, it was reported that a cargo ship sank in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine as it attempted to pass through the waterway, causing a fire and sinking. CNBC could not independently verify the report.
Late Wednesday, the Royal Navy-backed maritime security organization British Maritime Trade Operations said “confirmed sources” had reported that the container ship had been hit by an “unknown projectile”.
In a post on X overnight, U.S. Central Command refuted Iran’s claims that the strait is under Iranian control.
“The Revolutionary Guard’s naval commander has no navy. The U.S. military and regional partners clearly control the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said. “Just yesterday, the U.S. military helped our Gulf partners transport more than 19 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait.”
