WASHINGTON — Adm. Brad Cooper, the top US military commander in the Middle East, visited the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea during a 10-day regional tour that concluded Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.The visit came as the aircraft carrier continues an extended deployment supporting US military operations against Iran, including the blockade of Iranian ports.The Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January and has now spent more than 240 consecutive days at sea, a record-setting stretch that has raised concerns over the impact of prolonged deployments on sailors and the vessel itself.Reports have pointed to mental health and supply issues aboard the carrier, which can accommodate thousands of sailors and Marines.“History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era,” Cooper said of the Lincoln carrier strike group in a statement released Saturday.During his regional tour, Cooper also visited Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where he met civilian and military leaders, according to CENTCOM.The US naval blockade was imposed after Iran asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of war on Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.Before the conflict, about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz, making the waterway one of the most strategically important shipping routes in the world.Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have stalled, while Iran and Oman have continued discussions over arrangements for managing shipping through the strait.
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