The US aircraft carrier Abrham Lincoln, which demonstratively passed through the Straits of Hormuz a month ago just to "test the waters", has now sailed out of the Persian Gulf following a several day stay in the 5th Fleet base in Bahrain. And unlike the previous passage, Iran decided to get up close and personal. As AP reports [4]: "The American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, shadowed by Iranian patrol boats. But there were no incidents on Tuesday as the Lincoln’s battle group crossed through the narrow strait, which Iran has threatened to close in retaliation for tighter Western sanctions. Several U.S. choppers flanked the carrier group throughout the voyage from the Gulf. Radar operators also picked up an Iranian drone and surveillance helicopter in Iran’s airspace near the strait, which is jointly controlled by Iran and Oman. The Lincoln entered the Gulf last month amid heightened tensions with Iran. It is scheduled to begin providing aiding the NATO mission in Afghanistan starting Thursday." Which mission would that be: the one where the US has withdrawn from? Luckily, this time no "hacker" managed to take over an Iranian boat and to send a few stray torpedoes in the Lincoln's general direction. Hopefully that continues. Also, it is unclear if the drones shadowing CVN-72 were the same that Iran with China's help, reverse engineered after the US drone fell in the middle of Tehran and did not self-destruct.
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And some more from the BBC [6]:
The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, close to the coast of Iran, for the second time in recent weeks.
A BBC reporter on board said an Iranian patrol boat at one point came within about half a mile of the carrier.
The vessel was protected by a US cruiser and destroyer. Iranian officials recently threatened to close the channel, through which 20% of the world's oil exports pass, in a row over oil trade embargoes.
The BBC's Jonathan Beale on board the Abraham Lincoln says the US has insisted it will keep the vital shipping lane open. A French warship and UK naval vessels accompanied the aircraft carrier in a journey through the strait last month.
The EU last month banned all oil imports from Iran amid growing concern over Tehran's nuclear programme.