Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has issued a strong warning to the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, stating that Iranian forces are prepared to retaliate if the vessel re-enters the region.
Speaking at a meeting with personnel from missile, drone, and air defense units on Sunday, Irani said that during previous operations, the Iranian Navy had targeted the carrier group, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and one of its accompanying warships.
He said that Iranian missile capabilities forced US forces to reposition repeatedly, moving hundreds of miles away from Iran’s territorial waters.
The commander also warned that if the carrier group again comes within range, Iran would launch various shore-to-sea missile systems along the Makran Coast, vowing to avenge the “blood of the Dena martyrs.”
The IRIS Dena was brutally attacked on March 4 in international waters while returning from a multinational naval exercise in India, an event it had been officially invited to attend. Eighty four Navy men were martyred in the attack.
