TEHRAN — U.S. President Donald Trump said this week that he had ordered the U.S. Navy to escort vessels wishing to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has limited navigation since Trump launched a second war against the country on February 28. But the plan has already failed before U.S. forces were able to begin implementing it.

Trump had sent two aircraft carriers, accompanied by several destroyers, to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to pressure Iran into making further concessions during nuclear negotiations that began in early February. Both aircraft carriers fled the region as soon as the war began. One of them, the USS Abraham Lincoln, was later ordered to return to Iran’s vicinity after Trump announced on social media that he had instructed the U.S. Navy to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz if “necessary.” The Abraham Lincoln, however, fled the region for a second time on Thursday.

“The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln had approached to within 340 kilometers of Iran’s maritime borders in the Sea of Oman with the aim of managing the Strait of Hormuz,” announced the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the body managing the current war. “However, it was struck by drones from the naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). The carrier, along with its destroyers, retreated at high speed and has so far moved more than 1,000 kilometers away from the area,” he added.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who is currently a member of the temporary leadership council formed after the U.S.–Israeli assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei, also addressed the retreat in a post on X.

“They made a lot of noise about the USS Abraham Lincoln to pressure us, but this so-called ‘showpiece’ retreated from the battlefield at the very first encounter with Iranian missiles and drones,” he stated.

Qalibaf said the aircraft carrier that was supposed to protect the security and stability of America's allies “couldn’t even defend itself against a few drones and ended up fleeing.”

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than 20% of the world’s energy previously passed each day, has already caused energy prices to rise significantly around the world. Europe is bearing the brunt of Washington’s war on Iran the most. LNG prices in Europe have already increased by at least 70% in the span of just six days. Oil reached $91 per barrel on Thursday, up $11 from its price before the war. In the United States, gasoline prices have already jumped to $5 per gallon from the previous $3.

Iran had warned multiple times since the end of the 12-day war in June 2025 that it would close the Strait of Hormuz if it came under attack again by the U.S. and Israel. Iranian forces practiced closing the strait in mid-February.

The U.S.–Israeli attacks, which have so far killed more than 1,200 civilians in Iran, began while Washington and Tehran were in the middle of nuclear negotiations, marking the second time the Trump administration has struck the country during an ongoing diplomatic process.

US takes revenge by hitting unarmed destroyer carrying trainees 

Amid its inability to confront Iran in West Asia, the United States sank an Iranian destroyer 2,000 miles away from where the war is taking place on Tuesday. The destroyer, called Dena, was returning from an event hosted by the Indian Navy and attended by representatives from over 72 countries in the Indian port of Visakhapatnam.

The Dena was unarmed and had about 130 sailors on board, most of whom were officers in training. The only comparable aggression in history dates back to World War II, when Nazi Germany sank a British vessel. Even then, the Nazis rescued the sailors before the ship went down.

The Dena destroyer was struck near Sri Lankan waters. More than 80 crew members were killed, while the rest were rescued by Sri Lankan forces. The Indian government has yet to explicitly condemn the U.S. attack.

The Iranian Navy has vowed to avenge the blood of the training officers.