ARABIAN SEA — The commander of US Central Command visited the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday as it transited the Arabian Sea during a scheduled deployment, amid heightened regional tensions.Adm. Brad Cooper met with crew members aboard the nuclear-powered carrier alongside US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to a statement issued by CENTCOM.“I join the American people in expressing our incredible pride in the Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group,” Cooper said.“Their dedication to the mission and professionalism are on full display here in the Middle East as they demonstrate U.S. military readiness and strength.”Witkoff said he spoke during the visit with the pilot who shot down an Iranian drone earlier this week after it approached the carrier without what he described as clear intent.“Proud to stand with the men and women who defend our interests, deter our adversaries, and show the world what American readiness and resolve look like, on watch every day,” Witkoff said in a post on X.The visit came a day after Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Muscat, Oman, for indirect talks with Iran, as tensions have escalated in recent weeks amid an expanded US military presence in the region and repeated warnings of possible military action by President Donald Trump.The USS Abraham Lincoln departed for deployment in November and initially operated in the Indo-Pacific region before arriving in the Middle East in January.The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group includes the aircraft carrier itself; the embarked staffs of Carrier Strike Group 3, Destroyer Squadron 21, and Carrier Air Wing 9; guided-missile destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., USS Spruance, and USS Michael Murphy; and more than 60 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, CENTCOM said.
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