Senior defense officials have told Fox News that the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and her Carrier Strike Group, consisting of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers; USS Spruance (DDG-111), USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), and USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121), have not yet entered the U.S. Central Command’s Area-of-Responsibility in the Arabian Sea.

“It is close, but technically not in CENTCOM yet,” an official told Fox News, suggesting that the aircraft carrier and her escorts are not yet in position for strikes against Iran.