Updated

Admiral Bradley Cooper, head of US Central Command, visited the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, the vessel at the centre of the US naval blockade of Iran. The visit came amid reports of severe strain on the carrier's crew following an unusually long deployment, including mental health concerns and supply shortages. One sailor was rescued after going overboard, in an incident linked in reporting to exhaustion and mental health struggles aboard the ship. Cooper praised the deployment, saying history would record it as an exceptional one. The Lincoln's extended presence reflects the sustained US military posture against Iran since the outbreak of the US-Iran war, with the blockade a central element of Washington's pressure campaign on Tehran.