There has been conflicting claims made about the current status of US’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday claimed that it struck the aircraft carrier with missiles and drones, rendering it non-operational and forcing it to retreat.
Washington, however, has denied such claims.
Two officials who spoke to CBS News under anonymity said that US fired at an Iranian vessel that sailed too close to the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The officials said that a US Navy vessel attempted to fire on the Iranian vessel using its 5-inch, 54-calibre Mark-45 gun, a naval canon that is mounted on the deck of navy destroyers.
The officials said that the weapon missed the Iranian ship multiple times.
Then, a helicopter equipped with Hellfire missiles was launched and struck the vessel with two of the missiles.
The US Central Command also posted images of the Abraham Lincoln carrier group saying that the it continues to support the Operation Epic Fury, a project of power from the sea.
The IRGC, meanwhile, had claimed that the carrier was targeted during an operation in the region, according to AA News, which cited Iranian media. The statement did not contain details of the attack.
The television report stated that the US carrier and its strike group were seen fleeing the area at high speed.
The IRGC had also claimed to have struck the Lincoln before. However, the Pentagon dismissed such claims, saying that missiles didn't even come close.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier with the hull designation CVN-72.
It is being accompanied by the destroyers USS Spruance and the USS Michael Murphy in the Arabian sea.
The fleet arrived in the region in Late January as part of a broader US naval presence in the region.