• US carrier concerns:The US is sending another carrier groupto the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, a US official told CNN, adding that the swap was planned. There have been reports of families of sailors aboard the Lincoln raising concerns about mental health and living conditions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the reports were “completely misrepresented.”
• Economic pressure:Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US will apply measures “never been seen” on Iran. President Donald Trump recently made clear inflicting economic painwas part of his Iran strategy. “Watch this space for more announcements coming next week,” Bessent told Newsmax
• Strait of Hormuz:Bessent also signaled the US blockade on Iranian ports will continue, as traffic through the waterway remains low. In a separate update, a UAE state-owned company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the critical waterway on Thursday
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Sailor went overboard on USS Lincoln last month
3:06• Source:
CNN
Sailor went overboard on USS Lincoln last month
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Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US, call or text 988 for help. TheInternational Association for Suicide PreventionandBefrienders Worldwidehave contact information for crisis centers around the world
Keeping morale high on ships the size of US Navy aircraft carriers presents problems that smaller warships may not face, even in times of combat, experienced naval officers say
Reports have surfaced this week of mental health concerns aboard the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln as its crew endures more than 200 days without a port call during operations against Iran
A sailor was rescued after going overboard earlier this month off of the Lincoln, officials said. The sailor was not injured, and the Navy considered the incident a mental health episode, according to one official
With more than 5,000 people aboard, keeping them all unified and focused as one team is difficult in a ship larger than some small towns, said Jennifer Parker, a former Royal Australian Navy officer and nonresident fellow at the Lowy Institute
Parker served on Australian destroyers, with a crew of around 200, a size that enabled to commanding officer and executive officer to know the entire ship’s company personally, she said
But top officers can’t have that kind of relationship with 5,000 sailors, she said
“I think that would be a much harder leadership proposition on a carrier,” let alone a carrier in wartime conditions, Parker said
Former US Navy Capt. Carl Schuster, who served three tours on the Lincoln’s sister ship, the USS Nimitz, in the late 1970s and 1980s, said life aboard can be isolating, especially for enlisted crew who work deep inside the 100,000-ton carriers
“I was an officer, so my work was more mentally than physically focused, and I was out on bridge wings and flight deck several times a day,” Schuster told CNN
Schuster said even in non-wartime conditions, mental health is a concern
On each of his three deployments aboard the Nimitz, including two with at least 80 days straight at sea, at least two crew attempted suicide, he said
“We all have a breaking point, and you don’t see it until it happens to you or someone else,” Schuster said
On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the Navy’s record on supporting its sailors
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” he said
Reports of low morale among service members and deteriorating living conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln show the US Navy is paying the price for its shipbuilding decisions made decades ago, said Jennifer Parker, a former Royal Australian Navy officer and non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute
The US fleet has not been able to keep up with the demands being placed upon it as Washington has cut back on its size, Parker told CNN on Friday
“I suspect that the 200-day deployment (of the Lincoln) is directly related to the lack of ships in the US Navy,” Parker said
When it comes to aircraft carriers, a look back to the first Gulf War in 1991 shows how stark the drop in numbers has become
During the height of that conflict, which had 42 days of active combat, the US sent six aircraft carriers to the region from a total fleet of 15
During the current almost six-month conflict with Iran, the US has had at most three carriers in the region at one time – though only for a matter of days – from a fleet of 11
One of those, the USS Gerald R Ford, also reported problems earlier this year, from toilets that weren’t working to a laundry fire that briefly stopped combat operations and destroyed some sleeping quarters
The Ford ended a modern record deployment of 326 days in May, a stretch that included action in Venezuela as well as against Iran
And that doesn’t count other Navy demands on the carrier fleet, like exercises with allies or keeping a presence in the Indo-Pacific, Parker said
On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that reports ofconditions on the Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented.”
“We make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide them at every single moment,” he said
Hegseth reacts to reports of poor conditions aboard USS Lincoln
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented” while talking to reporters on a trip to Central America, though he did not specify his concerns with the reporting
1:12• Source:
CNN
Hegseth reacts to reports of poor conditions aboard USS Lincoln
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday indicated Washington will continue to economically isolate Iran and blockade its ports with measures “never been seen.” His remarks come after President Donald Trump made clear on Sunday that inflicting economic pain was part of his Iran strategy
Meanwhile, the US is sending another carrier group to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, a US official told CNN. The official said the swap had been previously planned
Families of sailors on board the Lincolnreportedly raised concerns about living conditions on the ship and the mental health of the crew during an extended deployment for the Iran war. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that conditions on the Lincoln had been “completely misrepresented.”
Military reporter shuts down Hegseth denial of sailors jumping overboard
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is dismissing a Military Times report about American sailors jumping overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln as ‘completely misrepresented.’ Natalie Oliverio, the Military Times Pentagon reporter who broke the story, tells Erin Burnett Hegseth’s ‘gaslighting of our force is disrespectful’ and says American troops ‘deserve transparency and accountability.’
2:00• Source:
CNN
Military reporter shuts down Hegseth denial of sailors jumping overboard
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Ship attack:The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said two of its vessels were attackedThursdaywhile transiting the Strait of Hormuz. ADNOC did not provide further details about who was behind the attack. No group has claimed responsibilityyet
Environment concerns: Greenpeace said the oil spill off the coast of Oman from a shadow fleet tanker now covers hundreds of square miles. The Omani government has yet to confirm the size of the impacted areas
Price hike held:A southeastern Iranian province has halted plans to sharply raise petrol prices, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. The proposed price would have represented an enormous jump from the current fuel card rate. In Iran, the rate of inflation for food has soared by nearly 130% over the past 12 months, and people are having to buy food and medicine in installments, according to reports from Iranian media
The US is going to apply measures that have “never been seen” on Iran, indicating Washington will continue to economically isolate the country and blockade its ports, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday
He added that the Iran conflict has shown a “temporary spike in energy prices” and said: “We’re going to get to the other side of this and come down.”
US President Donald Trump has indicated that he planned to choke Iran economically. “We are low-keying it,” he told Axios over the weekend. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday targeted individuals, exchange houses and companies across several countries that it accused of helping Iran’s Shahr Bank move hundreds of millions of dollars clandestinely
The Treasury has said these sanctions are its eighth in 2026 targeting Iran’s alleged shadow-banking system under Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign
Democratic lawmaker and combat veteran Rep. Moulton on reports of dire conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
0:51• Source:
CNN
Democratic lawmaker and combat veteran Rep. Moulton on reports of dire conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
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The USS George Washington carrier group, which finished a port visit in Vietnam on August 5, is headed to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, a US official told CNN
The official said that the swap had been previously planned. It was not immediately clear when the Washington would arrive
The Lincoln has been the subject of growing concerns about the wellbeing of its crew, with Democratic lawmakers demanding answers from the Pentagon
CNN first reported on Thursday that a sailor had gone overboard last month, but was quickly rescued and medically evaluated. The circumstances under which the sailor went overboard were not immediately clear nor whether the sailor returned to duty or was evacuated from the ship
News outlets Stars and Stripes and the Navy Times reported this week that there had been multiple attempts by crew members to jump overboard, citing interviews with sailors and families of those on board who described the impacts of its lengthy deployment
Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego last November, the aircraft carrier has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East to support US operations in the war with Iran, now entering its sixth month
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening
The state-owned energy and petrochemical group said no injuries were reported and the situation was under control
In a statement published on the UAE’s state news agency WAM, the company emphasized the importance of protecting seafarers and safeguarding freedom of navigation and maritime security
ADNOC did not provide further details about who was behind the attack. No group has claimed responsibility
After Iran intensified its demands over the weekend before it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump didn’t threaten new strikes but instead indicated that he planned to choke Iran economically. “We are low-keying it,” he told Axios over the weekend. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”
This broke with Trump’s usual rhetorical pattern in talking about Iran, in which the president generally declares that a conclusive deal with Iran is imminent, threatens to annihilate Iran if it doesn’t comply, then calls the attacks off at the last minute — only to do it all over again
What, precisely, does it mean to “low-key” the events of a war? It’s not the first time the president has employed this peculiar turn of phrase, transforming a word typically used as an adjective or adverb into a verb. In early April, as Israel’s continued bombing of southern Lebanon threatened negotiations with Iran, Trump used it to describe a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it,” he told NBC News at the time. “I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key.”
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