Iran claims ballistic missiles struck USS Abraham Lincoln, Pentagon denies any hit

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it fired four ballistic missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on March 1, 2026, claiming the strike temporarily grounded the ship’s fighter jets. The Pentagon says that never happened. The competing accounts have become one of the more consequential information battles of 2026, with each side telling a version of events that flatly contradicts the other. And as of mid-August, no independent verification has emerged to settle the dispute. What Iran says happened The IRGC labeled the operation “True Promise 4,” framing it as retaliation for what Tehran described as joint US-Israeli military actions. Iranian state media and military officials claimed the four ballistic missiles not only reached the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) but struck it, disrupting flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class supercarrier. Iranian leadership has paired the missile claims with an increasingly aggressive public posture. The IRGC issued a $30,000 bounty for the capture or killing of US troops. What the US says happened US Central Command responded swiftly and unambiguously. CENTCOM stated that no missiles hit the Lincoln and that the projectil...