USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego after supporting Iran war

Aircraft carrier spent record 265 consecutive days at sea, received Presidential Unit Citation from defense chief

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier returned Thursday to its home port of San Diego, ending a record-setting 321-day deployment in which it took part in the US-Israeli war against Iran, according to USNI News.

The carrier pulled into Naval Air Station North Island after a deployment that included 265 consecutive days at sea without a port call, a Navy record.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the ship at sea Wednesday and presented the crew with the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest decoration awarded to military units, for its role in Operation Epic Fury.

Hegseth told sailors the strike group had done what “no other carrier strike group has ever done.”

He rejected what he described as attempts to turn the carrier into “a symbol of dysfunction” or of low morale.

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The Lincoln, carrying 5,000 sailors and Marines, left San Diego last November for the Pacific. It was redirected to the Middle East after the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

During the summer, media reports described shortages of food and basic supplies, and declining mental health and morale among the crew, including reports that two sailors tried to jump overboard.

Heavy explosions in Strait of Hormuz as tankers may have hit mines: Iran’s state broadcaster

Several powerful explosions were reported in the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, possibly after oil tankers struck naval mines, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported, citing military sources.

The explosions occurred minutes earlier in the southern passage of the strategic waterway, according to the broadcaster

The sources said oil tankers using “unauthorised” routes may have hit mines deployed in the area.

The report did not provide details about the number or identities of the tankers, possible casualties or damage.

The reported explosions come amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has warned vessels against using routes not authorised by Tehran.

Trump says comment that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles was misinterpreted

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said comments he made that Iran could "take out" California cities had ​been misinterpreted and that he was instead referring ‌to the need for people to tolerate higher gas prices.

Trump made the remarks at a political rally in Nebraska on Monday as ​he spoke about Americans' wartime economic sacrifices.

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"Remember, with ​the war, it's just artificial, it's a little ⁠bit high, it's a small price to pay," ​he said then. "It's a small price to pay for ​keeping the world safe, for keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let 'em take out Los Angeles, ​let 'em take out San Diego. This is a ​very small price to pay, and it's going to be over ‌with ⁠very soon."

California's Democratic leaders and some fellow Republicans quickly rebuked the remarks.

"What I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a ​small price ​to pay ⁠for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon," Trump said in a Truth Social ​post on Thursday.

"If you want to see a ​big ⁠price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?" he ⁠continued, ​saying he loved both cities.

Trump has ​shrugged off cost-of-living concerns stemming from the Iran conflict before.