Aboard the USS George Washington: Inside the Carrier at the Center of the U.S.-Iran War
The USS George Washington, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier carrying roughly 5,000 personnel along with fighter jets and munitions, has become a central pillar of the U.S. military’s tactical operations in the war with Iran—and a primary target of the Tehran regime.
CBS News was given rare access to the carrier this week, boarding the vessel in the Arabian Sea near the Strait of Hormuz as it supported U.S. operations against Iran. The visit offered a close-up view of a warship whose daily rhythms are now shaped by a conflict that has spread across the region’s air, sea and energy corridors.
The George Washington was dispatched to the Middle East last month to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln’s deployment had drawn scrutiny after stretching to a record nine months, raising concerns about conditions aboard the ship and the mental health of its crew.
This week, CBS News watched as George Washington service members launched nighttime missions aimed at helping maintain the U.S. blockade against Iran and providing cover for commercial vessels transiting the strait. The operations underscore the carrier’s dual role: projecting firepower and reassuring shipping through one of the world’s most important chokepoints.
But the mission has come at a cost. U.S. military stocks of interceptors and precision weapons are running low, sources have previously told CBS News—an assessment Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has denied.
The carrier itself may also have been in Iran’s sights. The Navy confirmed that Iran last weekend attempted to hit U.S. warships with ballistic missiles. Asked what goes through his mind when he hears about potential ballistic missile strikes, Capt. Nicholas Deleo, commanding officer of the George Washington, said the crew trains for such threats.
“We have a variety of ways to protect, both offensively and defensively, a Navy ship, and we employ all these methods,” Deleo told CBS News. “It is something that we train to.”
A new concern has emerged in the Middle East: Iran-backed Houthi militants are now threatening a second critical oil route important to Saudi Arabia. The Houthis reportedly seized a key Red Sea port city in Yemen and took control of several strategic Red Sea islands in or near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
In just days, the Houthis have made significant gains in Yemen and attacked several Saudi oil refineries. Saudi officials said Friday that they had been forced to shut down their crucial East-West oil pipeline after it came under attack from drones launched from Iraq. Officials said the pipeline was damaged and dozens of people were hurt.
Two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News on Friday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally asked President Trump to take action against the Houthis.
So far, Mr. Trump has declined to involve the U.S. military, the sources said, instead offering to assist with intelligence and targeting support.
The carrier’s presence near Hormuz, and the widening Houthi threat to Red Sea energy infrastructure, illustrate how the Iran conflict is testing U.S. naval power and regional supply lines at the same time. For Washington, the challenge is not only maintaining military pressure on Tehran but also protecting the global oil trade from a conflict that increasingly reaches beyond Iran’s borders.