PressTV

Iran’s Navy has launched a coast-to-sea missile towards the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) aircraft carrier following a pledge by the Army to avenge those martyred during an American strike against an Iranian naval frigate.

“A powerful missile system belonging to the Navy fired a coast-to-sea missile towards the USS Abraham Lincoln a few minutes ago,” reports carried by various Iranian outlets said, citing the Army’s Public Relations Office.

The development followed an earlier attack on the Iranian naval frigate IRIS Dena by the United States Navy.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Army said the vessel was struck nearly 2,000 miles away from the battlefield, while on a training mission.

According to the statement, cadets on board the ship had been participating in the multinational Milan 2026 naval exercise in India and were returning when the attack occurred.

It denounced the strike as “cowardly,” saying it resulted in the martyrdom of young students returning from the peace exercise, and showed that global arrogance abides by none of the international rules.

“The martyrdom of those dear young men will only strengthen the resolve of the great Iranian nation and the fighters of Islam to avenge the pure blood of their comrades,” the statement said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also condemned the strike in a message posted on X, reminding that the frigate “was struck in international waters without warning.” “Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret the precedent it has set.”

The missile launch reported on Friday also came after earlier confrontations involving the same US aircraft carrier.

A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s highest operational command unit, previously said the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy had targeted the carrier in the Sea of Oman using domestically produced drones.

According to the spokesperson, the carrier was intercepted about 340 kilometers from Iran’s maritime borders after moving into the area as part of a US military buildup.

“The carrier group has since retreated more than 1,000 kilometers away from the region,” the official said, adding that the US presence had failed to achieve its objective of intimidation.

The United States deployed the carrier to regional waters before launching its latest bout of unprovoked aggression together with the Israeli regime against the Iranian soil.

Iranian Armed Forces have responded decisively, with the IRGC deploying hundreds of ballistic missiles and attack drones against regional American outposts as well as numerous sensitive and strategic targets throughout the occupied territories.