Global Conflict Reporting

Category: Iran

  • United States aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln heads towards Middle East.

    United States aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln heads towards Middle East.

    By. Scott Jackson

    01/20/2026

    Several days ago the USS Abraham Lincoln(CVN 72) along with its Carrier Strike Group(CSG) which had most recently been sailing in the South China Sea, turned West, reportedly, with new orders- to sail to the Middle East. The ship and her escorts will join the US Fifth Fleet and conduct operations in the strategically and geopolitically important waterways of the Middle East. 

    Currently the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is made up of destroyers USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121), USS Spruance (DDG-111) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112). The carrier embarked with the air power of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9. 

    USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr.
    USS Spruance (DDG-111)
    USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112)

    Late on Sunday (about 11:00 pm local time) the carrier was spotted entering the Malacca Strait which can be seen In the photo below, posted by USNI the ship was caught sailing past Singapore at about midnight. By Monday the carrier’s AIS data showed it was on the last stretch of the Malacca Strait before the Indian Ocean. 

    The dark shape of the USS Abraham Lincoln as it looked sailing through Singapore, in its way through rk mm

    There are currently no U.S. aircraft carriers in the Middle East and right now there are only two CSG’s  deployed at all- the Abraham Lincoln CSG heading towards the Middle East and the Gerald R. Ford CSG which has been operating in the Caribbean. 

    Last known position of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

    GCR as well as other media outlets have reached out to the Pentagon as well as the Navy for confirmation, but we’ve received no statement back at the time of writing. 

    The instability in the region since 2024 has three times now caused a carrier strike group to be rerouted from the Indo-pacific region to the Middle East. USS Abraham Lincoln in 2024 and the USS Nimitz CSG last June. 

    The USS Abraham Lincoln will reach the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility in roughly 5-6 days. Tensions in the area are the probable cause of this redeployment and shifting of forces, with instability and conflict in both Syria and Iran.

    https://twitter.com/eyakoby/status/2013637434068570455?s=46&t=pPISHVltNhVr2rHvuYinRA

    Following protest being met with violence in Iran, the White House threatened military action against Iran with President Trump claiming “Help is on its way.”. Those protest have been ongoing in multiple cities around the country for several weeks now, and are often met with gunfire from the various Iranian security forces. In Syria, fighting between the regime and Kurdish SDF forces in the North has been ongoing for a time.

    The redeployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln from the Indo-Pacific leaves only the forward deployed USS George Washington (CVN 73), currently undergoing maintenance in Yokosuka, Japan. It would take some time for the USS George Washington to be 6ready for sea as at the very least its carrier air wing would need to undergo carrier qualification training before being allowed to set sail. 

    The U.S. also has the Japan-based amphibious assault ship Tripoli (LHA-7) which is conducting patrols in the Indo-Pacific region as well as cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62) and destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG-115) according to USNI. 

    Tripoli (LHA-7)

    Apart from naval movements, sharp eyed flight trackers noticed an increase in flights heading to US bases in the Middle East. In the last 24 hours at least a dozen US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing departed RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom and arrived at the Muwaffew Salti Air Base in Jordan. Four KC-135’s accompanied them. A number of C-17’s also reportedly departed from the UK and made their way to the Middle East. 

    F-15E Strike Eagle landing in Jordan, relesed this morning by US CENTCOM

  • Iran suspected of hijacking crude oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz.

    M/V Talara

    By.Scott Jackson

    11.14.2025

    This morning(11.14.2025), the Greek owned, Marshall Islands flagged crude oil tanker M/V Talara was ambushed and seized by forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp(IRGC) while transiting the Gulf of Oman. 

    The M/V Talara departed from the port of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates(UAE), for a short trip to Singapore according to the ships AIS data which can be viewed publicly on maritime tracking services. The British maritime risk assessment group Vanguard reported that the ship was surrounded by Three Iranian IRGC fast attack craft while near the strait of Hormuz. Contact with the ship was lost at this time and at 8:22am local time the ship reportedly turned towards the direction of Iran. It’s last signal was around 12:06PM still on a course towards Iran. 

    Iranian fast attack patrol boats.

    At the time of the incident a Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton with the U.S. Navy was present in the strait and was seen circling the area where the incident took place. According to media reports no damage or casualties are reported at this time. 

    Flight tracking data showing the MQ-4C Triton during the incident. This shows us where the ship was seized and turned towards Iran. The drone never went into Iran, interference can sometimes distort a flight path.

    In a statement Columbia shipmanagement, the company who manages the ship said “The vessel, carrying a cargo of high-sulphur gasoil, was transiting the Indian Ocean during its passage from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates to Singapore when contact was lost at around 0822 local time on Friday, 14 November, 2025 approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates.”

    The company said they are working closely with the relevant authorities. They added “The safety of the crew remains our foremost priority,”

    The ship is owned by the Greek Coronis Family Group of Companies. They have yet to release a statement of any kind. 

    Merchant vessels have been advised of the incident and warned to practice caution while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. 

    The ship is believed to be sitting in port somewhere in the Khuran (or Clarence) Strait, a smaller strait inside of the strait of Hormuz. Tomorrow’s satellite imagery should tell us more.

    Khuran (or Clarence) Strait, where the ship is believed to be held.

  • Images show the aftermath of the Iranian retaliation strike on U.S. Al Udeid airbase.

    By. Scott Jackson

    07/15/2025

    Recently released images show the damage after an Iranian attack on the U.S. Al Udeid airbase. The June 23rd ballistic missile attack was mostly intercepted, video of which can be seen here.

    Qatari residents watch as US air defenses take out incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.

    Al Udeid is a large military complex and is currently the forward operating base for US Central Command and the USAF Central Command and several air squadrons as well as one from the Royal Air Force. Al Udeid has been an important US instillations since after Desert Storm when a Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed and the base was built in 1996. The U.S. kept the base somewhat secret until the early 2000’s when it was used to launch missions into Afghanistan. Since then the base has remained an important strategical command post for US forces in the Middle East.

    The Iranian attack on June 22nd was being carried out for several reasons but mainly as retaliation for the U.S.’s strike on Iran’s nuclear sites several days earlier. On a deeper level the retaliation was planned because Iran needed to appear to remain strong in front of their allies and the rest of the world. Not striking back, for them, was not an option.

    Hours before the attack the US was made aware of the planned attack by the Qatari government who were told by Iranian officials. This gave the US enough warning that no lives were lost.

    Above shows a before image of the exact area that received damage. What you’re looking at is a satellite antenna for the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) network. It is not a radar as some have reported.

    Here is what it looks like on the inside.

    Inside the radar dome at Al-Udeid.

    Several days after the attacks this is what the same spot looked like.

    The back circle is the remains of the radar dome and dish.

    Looking closer with photos from the ground …

    We knew several days ago that the site had received damage but having pictures from the ground is always a bonus.

    Fixing the damage will be a high priority for the forces at the base. It’s a fairly new system made by L3Harris so it’s likely expensive. I’m the interim it’s possible a smaller version of the same model can be brought in to take care of their immediate communication needs.

  • US strikes on Iran; Operation Midnight Hammer.

    By. Scott Jackson

    06/21/2025

    According to US President Donald Trump, the attack last night at about 2:00 am (local time) on three of Iran’s nuclear sites was a success. Speaking to Fox News an hour or so after the attack Trump said that a total of six of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator- a 30,000 pound, GPS guided, “bunker buster” on Fordow others were used elsewhere. The bombs were dropped by USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bombers into Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. It was later reported that 7 bombers total took part in the strike, as well as a support package provided by CENTCOM.

    The Natanz and Isfahan Nuclear facilities were hit with 30 BGM-109 “Tomahawk” land-attack cruise missiles (TLAM) fired from the USS Georgia (SSGN 729).

    The result, Trump claims, was the complete destruction of all three plants.

    Satellite images from the awesome people over at Planet labs shows us the impact spot for the GBU-57’s.

    Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility several months ago.
    Fordow image taken today, the morning after the attack 06/22/2025) .

    These next images show the spot a little better. From Maxar.

    This one clearly shows the impact crater where the bomb burrowed its way through the soil and into the mountain. The ridge of the mountain is different in this video showing just how destructive the blast actually was.

    This last image below is from Maxar as well and shows the 6 holes left by the bunker busting behemoths as they slammed through the mountain.

    You can see the entrance holes from six individual bomb in this zoomed in image of the site. The holes are in two groups fairly close together.

    In this image we can see just how accurate a B-2 launched GBU-57 MOP really is. Being GPS guided, they can almost put one in the hole left by one of the others. As a B-2 can carry two of these bombs it would appear that at least three of the stealth bombers took part in this strike. My thinking is that the two made their individual drops and the third one put one more on top of each group. Total it’s being reported that 14 of the bunker busting bombs were used according to Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain.

    In the weeks and days leading up to the strikes satellite images show a large number of trucks in site leading analysts to believe that a large portion of the valuable equipment had been moved from Fordow. In the following pictures 16 trucks can be seen with heavy equipment located near the entrance.

    The strikes were proceeded by a reported heavy wave of GPS jamming and other electronic interference. I haven’t heard exactly what support craft took part in this mission. The F-35 is capable of Electronic Warfare as is the EA-18G Growlers flying from the US aircraft carriers in the region. The electronic jamming added to the stealth feature of the bombers and Iran reportedly never got a shot off at them. Another suspected factor that’s come up is that it’s being reported that Israel destroyed the air defense around Fordow, specifically, at the request of the U.S. administration. This is a closer coordination between the two countries militaries than most suspected, given some of the recent comments through the media. Israeli officials had stated just hours before the attack that Israel would not wait for the two week deadline that Trump gave himself to make a decision.

    That decision was apparently made in the very last minutes as the bombers were in the air over Iran, US president Donald Trump have the order to SECDEF Pete Hegseth to bomb the facilities.

    In the aftermath of the strike Iranian officials were livid. Iran’s foreign minister accused Washington of crossing “a very big red line” and that the U.S. would face consequences. US officials, like SECDEF Pete Hegseth messaging on this has remained focused on the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities, as they try to separate Americas goals from those of Israel who likely seeks complete regime change.

    “the United States is not at war with Iran….We are at war with its nuclear ambitions,” 

    US Vice President JD Vance.

    Iran responded to the attacks by launching a ballistic missile attack in Tel Aviv several hours later, one of the largest since the start of hostilities.

    Israel today, has continued its strikes on Iran with reports of strikes in Tehran as well as Tabriz.

    B-2 Spirit

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    Thanks for reading. Your support is always appreciated and your shares of my articles and post helps grow this page giving us more resources to continue to out back into it. 
    As GCR continues to grow I’m looking to expand into making a podcast. If you know anybody with knowledge or experiences that are relevant to what we write about here let me know. 
    -Scott

  • B-2s head to Guam amid Middle East tensions

    By. Scott Jackson

    Updated.

    06/21/2025

    As the US president Donald Trump is set to meet with his NSC National Security Council tonight (Saturday) Six US long range strategic stealth bombers, the B-2 spirit are being moved to a U.S. base in the Pacific. At least 6 of them were spotted by flight tracking software along with their refueling planes. They took off from Whiteman AFB in Missouri and refueled soon after leading some to believe that the planes were carrying a considerable amount of weight at takeoff.

    Reuters spoke to several unnamed officials who said that no forward orders beyond Guam had been given yet.

    These bombers were recently positioned at the joint British/US base in the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia. That location is the likely destination if these assets are to be moved closer to Iran. Currently at least two B-52’s are located at Diego Garcia.

    Assets like this are put in place ahead of time, even if they aren’t ultimately utilized to give the President options in case he decides to go forward, joining Israel and carrying out US offensive actions on Iran.

    The B-2 Spirit is a stealth, long-range bomber that can carry an assortment of munitions. For its likely intended purpose in destroying underground nuclear sites in Iran the B-2 is suspected to deploy one or more of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP. The GBU-57 is a 30,000 pound, GPS guided, bunker busting bomb capable of penetrating deep into the earth before exploding. The GBU-57 can penetrate up to 200ft of earth or 59ft of reinforced concrete. No there is some debate on whether or not the bomb could penetrate far enough down to destroy Iran’s site at Fordow.

    A mock-up of the GBU-57, shown in a B-2 Spirit simulator weapons loading training station At Whiteman AFB.

    The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) also known as Shahid Ali Mohammadi Nuclear Facility is a partially underground, uranium enrichment facility that is located twenty miles North of the city of Qom. The base is mostly buried under a mountain making attacking the target difficult, maybe even impossible, even for the always impressive B-2 Spirit. It’s possible that cracking this nut could require the use of something less stealthy and more conventional. Possibly ground forces sent in to plant explosives. Either way the task of destroying the site gets harder every day that Israel (and the U.S.) wait. Iran has a chance to move the valuable scientists and equipment to another base, possibly the nuclear base Israel has an agreement with Russia not to attack because of a reported number of Russian scientists.

    What are your thoughts? How should the Iranian nuclear base be handled?

    Update.

    Instead of being moved to a preposition thr B-2’s bombed three of Irans nuclear sites. Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan were all struck.

    Per. Trump via Truth Social

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  • US Air Force F-22s and F-35s deploying to the Middle East.

    US Air Force F-22s and F-35s deploying to the Middle East.

    Four F-35’s and a tanker spotted over Italy

    By. Scott Jackson

    06/17/2025

    In connection to the sudden large wave of aerial refueling tankers spotted leaving the continental US and heading East over the Atlantic and into Europe, the US has announced it is deploying several fighter squads into the Middle East.

    According to reports the fighters have already left and likely have already arrived.

    Statement released on social media from SECDEF Pete Hegseth
    The tankers as they left the US and headed across the Atlantic.
    Final landing position.

    The tankers were previously spotted on the publicly available ADS-B where their location can be tracked so long as the military pilots leave it on. The capability to turn it off is included for missions of a more secret nature. The fact that the locations are turned on is an indication that US military leadership knows people are watching and is attempting to deter any potential enemy’s (Iran). Around 39 tankers total have left from the U.S. since July 15th.

    Tankers location as of an hour ago.

    The F-22 are reported to have been launched or are preparing to launch from Langley AOR force base in Virginia. Langley houses 3 F-22 squadrons, the 1st Fighter Wing and 192nd Fighter Wing. We don’t yet know if the F-22s have left yet but we do know that a l C-17 Globemaster III landed at RAF Mildenhall rhat had departed from Langley.

    The C-17 Globemaster III that landed at RAF Mildenhall on Jun. 17, 2025

    While the C-17 isnt a tanker these massive general cargo planes are used when a squadron or similar moves to a new location. It would be hauling weapons and some of the other administrative equipment needed. More of these flights are likely on the way.

    The F-35’s are believed to be either the Vermont Air National Guard or the 48th FW at RAF Lakenheath, in the UK. The 48th is the only F-35 squadron currently foward deployed so their proximity means they would arrive much sooner and be available for mission tasking as soon as you can load them up.

    I don’t have much more than that for now but it looking more likely that the U.S. is going to get involved in Israel and Irans fighting. Well more so than they already are. It’s a fact that Israel has already had US military support in this conflict but up until this point that support has been purely defensive. U.S. assets have assisted in downing drones and missiles coming from Iran.

    Reuters put out an article about this as well, their writer claimed to have talked to 3 defense department officials, 2 of them stresses the defensive nature of sending these fighters.

    I’ve reached out to several of the squadrons mentioned as well as the pentagon for a statement, however nobody has got back to me, I’ll update if they do.

    One other thing I’ll mention is the rumor of f-16s also being moved to the Middle East out of Italy but I have less info on that.

    The U.S. currently has around 40,000 soldiers in the Middle East. That’s combined everybody from air force to infantry and all the logistics and support crew jn between . 

    Thank you for reading! I’m always available for questions or comments and can be reached by email or through any of my social media pages.
    Your support helps grow this page as well as supports independent journalism and reporting. I’d also like to thank the people who send me tips and heads ups, as well as other reporters who I sourced to help write this any many other articles. Journalism is a team effort in the end. I’ve always felt it’s not about being first it’s about being right. 
    Any spelling mistakes are there to give the article character.

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  • Update on Israel and Iran.

    Update on Israel and Iran.

    An image that shows an Iranian ballistic missile intercepted outside of the earths atmosphere.

    By. Scott Jackson

    06/14/2025

    At the time of writing the IDF has just announced the detection of multiple launches from Iran as they warn their people to take cover. 

    Iranian state media is reporting 100 missiles launched in just this wave with Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian, threatening even more severe actions if Israel doesn’t back down. Israel on the other hand continues to periodically strike targets in Iran, specifically in Tehran. 

    Moments after Israel’s Haifa’s refinery’s was struck by Iranian missiles Israeli fighters bombed a refinery in Tehran causing a massive blaze. Other targets included were Iran’s Ministry of Defense and their headquarters for their nuclear production.

    Aftermath of an Israeli strike on an Iranian refinery leaves a a massive fire.

    This video reportedly shows the missiles hitting the Israeli refinery at Haifa. 

    Allegedly Iranian missiles raining down over Haifa.
    More videos from Haifa

    This is a back and foward’s knock-down drag-out with both sides taking and giving hits. However with Israel knocking out some of Iran’s stores of missiles on the opening shots it’s unclear how much Iran has left that it can sling. Some reports say up to 2000 missiles still available.

    As far as military units Israel hasn’t lost anything major yet. Early reports of an F-35 being downed were false. I’ve seen so evidence of any Israeli jets being lost so far.

    The nuclear talks with the U.S. scheduled for this weekend are cancelled. 

    Expect another update tonight, this coverage is more than less ongoing but it will take me a little bit to get back. 
    -Scott

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