US aircraft carrier sails through Strait

In the middle of  very high tensions with Iran, an American aircraft carrier has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. The Navy says it is routine for this type of activity.

Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost said the USS Abraham Lincoln entered the Gulf on Sunday without incident. (Derrick-Frost is a spokeswoman for the Navy's 5th Fleet, based in the Gulf state of Bahrain.)

U.S. warships almost-always  operate in the Gulf. But when the carrier USS John Stennis departed the Gulf in late December, Iranian officials stated that the U.S. should not return. Nevertheless, on Saturday, Iran made known that it viewed U.S. naval operations in the Gulf as normal.

Iran, just recently, said it might use it's military   to close the Strait in a retaliatory move for new international economic sanctions.