The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied claims from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) was struck by Iranian missiles.
CENTCOM clarified that the vessel “has not been attacked” and remains active in the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Epic Fury.
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Reports from Iranian media previously quoted IRGC sources, claiming that rapid missile launches forced USS Tripoli to withdraw from the region to the southern Indian Ocean.
These claims emerged a week after CENTCOM announced that USS Tripoli, serving as the flagship for the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, had arrived within its operational area.
According to the US military, the ship brings approximately 3,500 sailors and marines, along with a range of transport and strike aircraft and other amphibious and tactical assets.
CENTCOM responded directly to Iranian assertions, stating: “USS Tripoli has not been attacked and continues to sail in the Arabian Sea in support of Operation Epic Fury.”
The ship, delivered to the US Navy in 2020 by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding Division, is 844ft in length, displaces around 44,971 long tons, and operates at speeds over 20 knots.
Its equipment includes a gas turbine propulsion system, zonal electric distribution, and energy-efficient auxiliary electric propulsion first used on the USS Makin Island.
USS Tripoli can support MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft and F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.
In addition to the claim involving USS Tripoli, the IRGC also alleged it targeted the Israeli cargo ship SDN7 using cruise missiles, saying the vessel sustained extensive fire after being destroyed.
These combined strikes, as reported by Tasnim News Agency, were carried out by the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force units targeting the command, operational, logistical bases, and military-industrial infrastructure of the US and Israel.
Last week, the IRGC stated that it targeted the US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln with coastal cruise missiles.
The US military has not confirmed nor denied this particular claim, but CENTCOM reported that the carrier “continues flight operations against military targets in Iran while sailing in regional waters.”
