The USS Abraham Lincoln, photographed Oct. 8 in San Diego, set a U.S. Navy record by spending more than 260 consecutive days at sea nonstop, while playing a key role in Operation Epic Fury and regional maritime security operations in the Middle East.
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Saudi officials said on Wednesday that an administrative building belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco was targeted overnight, as Tehran-backed Houthi militants intensify their attacks on the kingdom.
The strike caused a fire, but no injuries were reported at the site in the town of Dhahran, on the country’s east coast, according to a statement from the Saudi Energy Ministry.
The Houthis, a Yemen-based militia backed by Iran, have launched a series of strikes against Saudi targets over the past week. The attacks at the airport in Riyadh, the capital, caused numerous deaths, flight cancellations and material damage. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport remains closed until Saturday.
Yemen’s civil war has returned to the form of large-scale fighting between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognized government, amid a broader regional escalation linked to the US-Iran war.
Iran ‘counting the moments’ until it can attack US ships
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Ali Ozmaei said Wednesday that Tehran is “counting the moments” until it can sink U.S. warships, according to Iranian state-affiliated media.
“If the Americans think the Strait of Hormuz is open, let them move closer. We look forward to sinking American warships,” Ozmaei was quoted as saying in a television interview.
“We are waiting for American warships to approach the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz so we can sink them. We are counting every moment until that happens.”
CNBC has contacted the White House for comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Islamic Republic had strengthened its defenses around sensitive sites like nuclear sites and told regional officials that Tehran would respond to any new U.S. strikes with retaliatory measures across the Middle East, while preparing its population for another war in the coming weeks.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that American forces would not attack Iran before the midterm elections, which take place on November 3.
On Wednesday, reports emerged that a cargo ship caught fire and sank in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a naval mine while trying to transit the waterway. CNBC was unable to independently verify the information.
Later on Wednesday, UK Maritime Trade Operations – a maritime security organization sponsored by the Royal Navy – said a “verified source” had reported that a container ship had been struck by an “unknown projectile”.
In an article on X, the US Central Command refuted Iranian claims that the strait is under Iranian control.
“The IRGC navy commander has no navy. US forces and their regional partners are clearly in control of the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said. “Just yesterday, U.S. forces helped their Gulf partners ship more than 19 million barrels of crude oil across the Strait.”
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