U.S. fired at Iranian vessel that approached aircraft carrier, officials say
U.S. fired at Iranian vessel that approached aircraft carrier, officials say
By
Updated on: March 12, 2026 / 7:56 PM EDT / CBS News
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 Marck-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.
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.
more
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-fired-at-iranian-vessel-that-approached-aircraft-carrier-officials-say/
