U.S. fired at Iranian vessel that approached aircraft carrier, officials say

Washington — An Iranian vessel sailed too close to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, and the U.S. fired at the vessel, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the matter who spoke to CBS News under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The officials said a U.S. Navy vessel attempted to fire on the Iranian vessel using its 5-inch, 54-caliber Mark-45 gun, a fully automated naval cannon that is mounted to the forward deck of Navy destroyers and cruisers and has served as the fleet’s standard deck gun since the early 1970s. 

While it’s not known which naval vessel fired on the Iranian ship, the officials said it missed multiple times. It isn’t clear whether they were intended as warning shots. 

A helicopter equipped with Hellfire missiles was launched and struck the Iranian vessel with two of the missiles. 

The status of the Iranian ship and its crew is not known. The incident occurred earlier this week. 

The USS Spruance and the USS Michael Murphy, both destroyers, are embarked with the Abraham Lincoln, which is operating in the Arabian Sea in support of U.S. military actions against Iran. However, six other guided-missile destroyers were operating in the Arabian Sea as of last week. 

It’s unclear what type of helicopter was used, but Navy Seahawk helicopters and Marine Corps Viper attack helicopters both have the ability to carry Hellfire missiles. However, MH-60R Seahawks have a multi-mission role which include both anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare. 

CBS News contacted U.S. Central Command, the primary unit overseeing U.S. military operations against Iran. A defense official said: “We have nothing for you on this.” 

The USS Abraham Lincoln is one of two American aircraft carriers deployed to the Middle East. The Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the region in late January, part of what President Trump described as an “armada.”

In early February, an Iranian Shahed-139 drone “aggressively” approached the aircraft carrier and “unnecessarily maneuvered” toward it, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson said at the time. The drone was shot down by an American fighter jet, a tense moment between the U.S. and Iran weeks before the war between the two countries began.

Since the start of the U.S.’s war with Iran, American forces have damaged or destroyed over 90 Iranian vessels, according to Central Command.