FACT CHECK: Did Iran strike 'USS Abraham Lincoln' with ballistic missiles? US military responds to IRGC claim

The Central Command of the US military (CENTCOM) has denied claims that one of its aircraft carriers operating in the Middle East, the USS Abraham Lincoln, was hit by four ballistic missiles from Iran.

The aircraft carrier is part of a larger strike group of the US military stationed in the Middle East as Iran continues to ramp up its response to coordinated attacks by Washington and Tel Aviv that killed its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"The missiles launched didn’t even come close," CENTCOM wrote in an X post, noting that the aircraft carrier was not hit.

"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," it added.

This comes in response to claims by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that it had launched four ballistic missiles that had "struck" the USS Abraham Lincoln.

"The land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors," the IRGC statement added, as per an AFP report.

At least three US military personnel have been wounded amid the US-Israel joint attack on Iran—which Washington calls Operation Epic Fury—as per the latest official updates. Five have also been "seriously wounded", CENTCOM noted in another post.

"Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions—and are in the process of being returned to duty. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing," it added.

Meanwhile, CENTCOM also claimed earlier that it had struck a Jamaran-class Iranian warship off the Chabahar Port in the southern part of the Islamic Republic, and that the vessel was "sinking".

"As the President said, members of Iran’s armed forces, IRGC and police 'must lay down your weapons'. Abandon ship," the CENTCOM post had said.