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Video shows USS Abraham Lincoln carrying out coordinated routine amid heightened Iran-US tensions | Watch
Following the downing of an Iranian drone, a video showcases USS Abraham Lincoln's operational readiness as Trump warns Tehran of potential military action.
The United States Central Command on Thursday released a video which showed a rush of jets queueing and taking off from the runway of USS Abraham Lincoln. The aircraft carrier is currently stationed at the Arabian Sea after US President Donald Trump said that Iran is under close watch and a "massive fleet" is heading towards the Gulf region.
Visuals from US Central Command's official X handle showed a series of fighter jets and sailors aboard the ship moving in a well-orchestrated routine.
“Sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are trained to work as a team to launch and recover safely and on time, every time,” US Central Command wrote on X.
The video was released two days after the US military said that it shot down an Iranian drone that was ‘aggressively’ approaching USS Abraham Lincoln.
“The drone was ‘aggressively approaching’ the aircraft carrier with ‘unclear intent’ and ‘continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters,” news agency AFP reported citing a statement from the US Central Command, which added that no American troops were harmed and no equipment was damaged.
The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an US Navy fighter jet F-35C which was stationed at the aircraft carrier which was sailing about 500 miles from the southern coast.
US-Iran tensions
After Iran gripped with anti-regime protests earlier in January and launched a deadly crackdown on demonstrators, President Donald Trump intervened saying that US military would launch an attack towards the Islamic Republic if violent situations persisted.
Last week, Trump said that he wanted to avoid using military power against Iran, a day after he warned that "time is running out" for Tehran to make a deal and that a US naval strike group was "ready, willing and able" to hit Iran.
The Islamic Republic's foreign minister Syed Abbas Araghchi responded saying that the country had learnt “valuable lessons” from the 12-day war last year. “Our brave Armed Forces are prepared—with their fingers on the trigger—to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea,” he said.
