Iran Forces USS Abraham Lincoln Out of Middle East

Read our editorials on the US-Israeli war on Iran here and here.

The USS Abraham Lincoln retreated from the Middle East on August 20, following nine months of uninterrupted deployment and its defeat by Iran during the US war of aggression.

The withdrawal follows reports of attempted suicides by sailors, food and water shortages, and unsanitary conditions aboard the aircraft carrier.

Monopoly outlet The New York Times reports the “supply issues” resulted from Iran’s defensive strikes against US military logistics bases in the Middle East, citing a US military official who said the Navy’s main regional supply site in Bahrain was heavily damaged in the opening days of the war.

The Trump administration has routinely concealed military losses in the war, even as their effects are increasingly visible.

On August 6, family members of those onboard the Lincoln confronted acting secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, at a town hall. Family members demanded the carrier return home, citing the deteriorating conditions and low morale of their relatives on board. According to MS Now, one woman at the town hall said the US military is “killing innocent civilians” and that her relative feels guilty about her actions, to the applause of the audience.

The Lincoln was originally expected to end its deployment in May. When asked by a reporter on August 14 whether the deployment had gone on too long, Trump responded, “No. Not nearly long enough,” adding that the ship would be eventually replaced.

The USS George Washington arrived in the Middle East from Japan on August 20, replacing the Lincoln.

Trump told reporters on August 17, “The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time—a good period of time—but over the years, we’ve had them out there much longer.” Carrier strike group deployments have averaged almost nine months since December 2021, exceeding the Navy’s recommended seven-month duration.

The USS Gerald Ford also broke the modern deployment length record this year after being deployed near Europe in June 2025, redirected to the Middle East in February 2026, and remaining there until May. On March 12, the ship caught on fire in what the US claimed was a laundry fire. The fire lasted for 30 hours, with almost 200 aboard being evaluated for smoke exposure. Footage of the aftermath shows scorched bunks. Sources told monopoly outlet CNN that the carrier’s fire control system had failed.

The Democrat mafia is playing caretaker for the troops ahead of the midterm elections. Senate Democrats on the Armed Services Committee issued a public letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on August 15, requesting answers to questions related to the Lincoln’s planned deployment length, living conditions on the ship, and the current operational capacity of the carrier and its air wing. The Democrats have repeatedly made clear their dissatisfaction with the war is due to the fact that US imperialism has suffered a significant defeat at the hands of the Iranian national resistance and its allies, with the Democrat mafia preferring instead the slower but deadlier route of starvation via sanctions.

In addition to the Lincoln’s retreat, top Pentagon officials are considering withdrawing much of its forces from the region, according to The Washington Post. Iran and its allies are making the popular slogan “Yankees out of the Middle East!” a reality through their successful defensive armed struggle.

Image: The USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, 2012. Credit: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

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