The U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has departed the western Pacific, sailing through the Strait of Malacca toward the Indian Ocean amid rising tensions with Iran and reports of a potential Middle East redeployment.
Ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic shows the carrier moving northwest through the Strait of Malacca, reaching waters near the eastern Indian Ocean north of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island on Tuesday.
US aircraft carrier heads to Middle East amid Iran turmoil
The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its associated carrier strike group have been redirected from the South China Sea toward the Middle East amid mounting unrest and geopolitical… pic.twitter.com/MvBAnedAH2
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) January 19, 2026
According to open-source reports, USS Abraham Lincoln is sailing alongside the destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121), USS Spruance (DDG-111) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112).
The redeployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln comes amid deadly protests in Iran and repeated U.S. warnings of military action if the violence does not stop. Its departure leaves the USS George Washington, homeported in Japan since November 2024, as the only U.S. aircraft carrier remaining in the western Pacific.
According to the U.S. Naval Institute News and official Navy images, the U.S. Navy has also deployed at least three destroyers in the Middle East: USS Roosevelt in the Red Sea, USS Mitscher in the Gulf of Oman, and USS McFaul in the Persian Gulf.
Sailors remain alert and ready on watch while the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) transits the Arabian Gulf.
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Forward-deployed and mission-focused, Roosevelt supports maritime security and stability in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.… pic.twitter.com/titG65cKTV— U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 14, 2026
Meanwhile, Iranian judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei on Tuesday announced that authorities are seizing the assets of individuals supporting protesters to cover damages incurred during the unrest.
با توجه به تخریبها و خسارات تحمیلی به اموال، تجهیزات، امکنه عمومی و بیتالمال و همچنین اموال شخصی مردم در اغتشاشات اخیر، مسببین، آمرین و مباشرین این وقایع باید علاوه بر محاکمه و تحمل مجازات، نسبت به جبران خسارات وارده نیز اقدام کنند.
— غلامحسین محسنی اژهای (@ejei_org) January 19, 2026
Mohseni-Ejei also promised to prosecute and punish rioters and supporters of the nationwide protests, including the U.S.
“We will not abandon the pursuit and prosecution of the perpetrators of the recent crimes in domestic courts and through international channels,” he said on X. “The President of the United States, the ringleaders of the accursed Zionist regime, and other backers and supporters—both in terms of armaments and propaganda—of the criminals and terrorists behind the recent events are among the perpetrators who, in proportion to the extent and scale of their crimes, will be pursued, tried, and punished.”
On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made an admission that “several thousands” were killed during the protests, though the government maintains that agents affiliated with foreign powers, and not state forces, were responsible for their deaths.
U.S.-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Tuesday that Day 24 of Iran’s protests resulted in at least 4,519 confirmed deaths, 9,049 cases under review, 5,811 people seriously injured, and 26,314 arrests.
Day 24 of Iran’s protests: at least 4,519 confirmed deaths, 9,049 under review, 5,811 seriously injured, and 26,314 arrests amid an ongoing internet blackout and UN warnings of crimes against humanity.
Read more in HRANA’s report:https://t.co/wpiw34CGBZ pic.twitter.com/NXT2XF1dDt— HRANA English (@HRANA_English) January 20, 2026
The Sunday Times, citing a separate compilation by doctors inside Iran, reported higher figures, estimating that at least 16,500 protesters have been killed and roughly 330,000 injured during the unrest.
