Iran launched a barrage of at least 14 ballistic missiles at the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group operating in the Gulf of Oman at approximately 2:17 a.m. local time Monday, according to a statement from US Central Command. All missiles were intercepted by shipboard Aegis defense systems and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers operating in escort formation. No US service members were killed or seriously injured. One missile fragment struck the flight deck of a destroyer, causing minor structural damage and no casualties.
The strike represents the first direct Iranian ballistic missile attack on a US naval vessel since the Islamic Republic's founding in 1979. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps released a statement claiming responsibility within 90 minutes, calling the attack "a measured response to the illegal aggression against the sovereign territory of the Islamic Republic." Tehran has demanded the immediate withdrawal of US forces from the Gulf and the lifting of oil sanctions imposed after last week's joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities at Fordow and Natanz.
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