[News] 30 sailors attempted suicide aboard USS Lincoln

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<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/johnson--30-sailors-attempted-suicide-aboard-uss-lincoln--ex>
Johnson: 30 sailors attempted suicide aboard USS Lincoln | Exclusive
Al Mayadeen English
August 18, 2026
------------------------------

Al Mayadeen's "Iran and the World" explores how a prolonged confrontation
increasingly favors Iran, citing mounting military, economic, and political
pressures on the US, the fallout from the Hormuz crisis, and Tehran's shift
toward a more offensive posture.

   - [image: University of Tehran professor Mohammad Marandi and former CIA
   analyst Larry Johnson speak to Al Mayadeen during the program Iran and the
   World.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2026/8/18/028c84ef-b428-4b83-a098-b4fabfbbfdb2.png?width=1000>
   University of Tehran professor Mohammad Marandi and former CIA analyst
   Larry Johnson speak to *Al Mayadeen* during the program *Iran and the
   World*. (Screengram/Al Mayadeen TV)

Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson and University of Tehran professor
Mohammad Marandi told *Al Mayadeen* that a prolonged confrontation
increasingly favors Iran, pointing to mounting military, logistical,
economic and political pressure on the United States as Tehran prepares to
adopt a more offensive posture.

Speaking during the program *The Great Standoff: Iran and the World *on
Monday night, Johnson argued that Washington faces growing difficulties
sustaining its military presence and replenishing advanced weapons, while
Marandi said Iran’s ability to endure the consequences of the war is
greater because it views itself as defending against an externally imposed
aggression.

"Time's on the side of Iran, not the United States", Johnson said, arguing
that strains within the US military would become increasingly difficult to
sustain the longer the conflict continued.

Johnson pointed in particular to the deteriorating conditions
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/amid-backlash--hegseth-denies-sailors--poor-conditions-on-us>
aboard US  vessels, including shortages of food and personal hygiene
supplies, malfunctioning sanitation systems and serious morale problems
among personnel
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-sailors-attempt-suicide-off-uss-abraham-lincoln>
.

He said those difficulties extend beyond the Navy, citing concerns over
suicides and morale across different branches of the US military. “The
longer this goes on, the more it wears on the personal morale of individual
soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen,” Johnson said.

Johnson mentioned that "One news report indicated that as many as six
sailors had tried to jump overboard on the Abraham Lincoln. I had a
recently retired US military officer tell me that that was a lie, that the
number was probably closer to 30, not just six. And we find that these
problems are not confined just to the Navy."
Johnson: US faces weapons, supply-chain constraints

Beyond personnel pressures, Johnson argued that the United States is
increasingly constrained by shortages of advanced weapons
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-war-on-iran-depletes-missile-arsenal--exposes-strategic-w>
and its reliance on foreign supply chains. He said China controls critical
materials required to manufacture weapons, including Tomahawk and JASSM
cruise missiles, PAC-3 interceptors used by Patriot systems and THAAD
missiles.

Johnson cited a recent study which he said found that nearly 80% of US
weapons systems are exposed to Chinese supply chains, arguing that
Washington has made itself dependent on a country it simultaneously
identifies as a strategic adversary.

He also pointed to limitations in the US Navy’s ability to resupply forces
deployed around Iran, saying the number of fast combat support ships
available to sustain aircraft carriers, destroyers and cruisers had
declined considerably over the past decade.

Johnson argued that Iranian strikes on warehouses in Bahrain and Oman used
to resupply US forces had further compounded those problems. “When Iran
destroyed the warehouses in Bahrain and Oman that were used to resupply
those ships, that's created a problem,” he said.

“So when you put all that together, time's on the side of Iran, not the
United States.”
Marandi: Iranian resilience greater than US ability to sustain war

For his part, Marandi similarly argued that time could increasingly favor
Tehran, saying Iran's population has stronger incentives to withstand
hardship because the country is facing what he described as an illegal war
aimed at undermining the Iranian state. “I think it's quite clear that the
Iranians, being the victims of aggression, being on the receiving end of an
illegal war, where the Israeli regime and the Trump regime, their stated
objectives have been effectively to destroy the country,” he said.

Marandi said Iran had posed no threat to the American population and argued
that public opposition inside the United States would grow as the economic
consequences of the conflict became more severe. “Iran was no threat to the
United States. Iran was not carrying out any act of aggression against the
people of the United States,” he said.

He pointed to rising energy costs
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/Economy/us-households-squeezed-by-iran-war-fuel-shock--ft>,
warning that higher gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel prices would place
additional pressure on an already struggling US economy. “The price of
gasoline, the price of diesel, the price of jet fuel, and so on, all of
these are going to have these rising prices, will have a very negative
impact on the US economy, which is already doing quite poorly,” Marandi
said.
Hormuz crisis creating ‘economic tsunami’: Johnson

Johnson also focused on the consequences of developments in the Strait of
Hormuz, arguing that disruptions there are beginning to produce economic
consequences far beyond the region.

He compared the situation to the retreat of the sea before a tsunami,
saying the closure of the Strait marked the beginning of what he described
as an “economic tsunami
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/Economy/us-spr-hits-new-record-low--falls-below-300mln-barrels-amid>”
that would eventually hit the global economy. “The minute Iran closed the
Strait of Hormuz, that was the beginning of, like, the water running away
from the ocean,” he said.

Johnson pointed to shortages of diesel and aviation fuel and said
governments had so far mitigated some of the impact by drawing from
strategic petroleum reserves. However, he argued that those reserves could
not be depleted indefinitely. “So the economic realities are going to hit
the United States, hit the United States hard,” he said, adding that the
consequences would be global rather than confined to the US economy.

He argued that worsening economic pressure would ultimately restrict
Washington's ability to carry out further large-scale military operations
against Iran.
Iran preparing to ‘go on the offensive’

Marandi, meanwhile, said that Tehran is not prepared to give Washington
unlimited time and argued that developments within Iran's national security
establishment point toward an increasingly offensive strategy.

He specifically cited Major General Mohsen Rezaei's appointment to a
leading role in the Supreme National Security Council.

“I think it's very clear that the appointment of Major General Mohsen
Rezaei as the chair of the Supreme National Security Council and the
representative of the leader in that council is sending a strong message
that Iran is going to go on the offensive
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/sayyed-khamenei-names-mohsen-rezaei-as-security-council-repr>,”
Marandi said.

Johnson also emphasized Rezaei's significance, describing him as an
experienced military and national security figure whose role should be
taken seriously by US intelligence agencies.

He praised Rezaei's experience in building the Islamic Revolution Guard
Corps into a central component of Iran's national security structure and
said his return to a senior position should not be underestimated in
Washington.

Marandi said Iran intends to exploit what it sees as growing American
vulnerabilities despite acknowledging that a prolonged war would impose
difficulties on Tehran as well. “Iran is going to press its advantage,” he
said.

“War is war. But Iran is determined to make sure that Trump fails, not only
with regards to Iran, but also across the region in Gaza, in Lebanon, in
Yemen, and in Iraq.”
Johnson: Washington misreading Iran's economic position

Johnson argued that the Trump administration is also underestimating Iran's
ability to resist economic pressure.

He said Washington appears to believe that Iran's economy can be pushed
toward collapse through sustained sanctions and wartime pressure, but
argued that Tehran is now in a stronger geopolitical position than when the
JCPOA was signed.

“At that time, Iran really was isolated relative to the rest of the world.
That's not the case today. Today Iran is in strong partnership with both
Russia and China,” Johnson said. He also pointed to Iran's commercial links
with Pakistan and transportation routes through the Caspian Sea and Eurasia
as factors reducing Tehran's isolation.

Johnson further claimed that Russia and China
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-s-iran-war-accelerates-collapse-of-us-led-global-order>
have provided Iran with military equipment and intelligence assistance that
has played an important role during the confrontation. He argued that
Washington's inability to maintain some of its regional military positions
showed that the assumption that sustained pressure would force Tehran to
capitulate had failed.
Oman, Hormuz arrangement unlikely to be implemented during war

Both guests also addressed negotiations involving Iran and Oman over the
Strait of Hormuz. Johnson interpreted US President Donald Trump's threats
toward Oman as a sign that Tehran and Muscat may be close to reaching an
understanding on management of the strategic waterway.

“When I heard that threat issued last night, all I said was this is
confirmation that Iran and Oman must be very close to announcing a
negotiated settlement regarding how they're going to jointly manage the
Strait of Hormuz,” Johnson said. He suggested that Oman may also have
accepted a proposed fee structure
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/oman-proposes-fees-for-strait-of-hormuz-transit-in-post-war>
for
vessels moving through the Strait.

Marandi said there were effectively no outstanding obstacles between Tehran
and Muscat. “There are no obstacles. The two sides are basically in
agreement with the way forward,” he said. However, he argued that formally
signing an agreement while the war continues would have little practical
meaning.

He said the Strait remains largely closed, with only a limited number of
vessels allowed through with Iranian permission, including ships belonging
to friendly countries and states that did not participate in the war
against Iran. “If Iran and Oman sign a piece of paper, it's not going to
have any impact,” he said, suggesting that the arrangement could instead be
formalized once conditions allow it to be implemented.

Marandi maintained that Iran intends to continue exercising control over
the waterway. “Iran has said very clearly that it will continue to control
the Strait of Hormuz. It will have oversight over all ships that enter the
Persian Gulf or leave the Persian Gulf. And it will charge fees for all
ships,” he said.
Marandi challenges *Reuters* reports citing Iranian officials

During the discussion, Marandi also challenged *Reuters* reports attributed
to unnamed senior Iranian officials, claiming that senior officials in
Tehran do not speak to the agency. “Senior Iranian officials do not speak
to Reuters. Not now, not in the past, and not in the future,” he said.

Marandi stated that information appearing in Iranian media is sometimes
subsequently attributed by *Reuters* to unnamed senior officials.

He cited his experience accompanying Iranian nuclear negotiating teams in
Vienna during talks led by Ali Bagheri Kani and Mohammad Javad Zarif,
claiming that reports attributed to Iranian officials during those
negotiations did not reflect actual conversations with them. “I would be
very careful about anything that *Reuters* says about Iran, but in
particular when *Reuters* quotes senior Iranian officials,” Marandi said.
Marandi rejects Iranian role in northern Iraq attack

Marandi also rejected accusations that Iran was responsible for a recent
attack in northern Iraq, pointing to Tehran's public denial
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-denies-involvement-in-attack-on-kurdistan-region-pm-off>
.

He distinguished between Iranian operations targeting armed groups based in
northern Iraq and attacks against Iraqi state institutions. “There's been
no history of Iran ever targeting state institutions in northern Iraq or
anywhere in Iraq,” he said.

"When Iran strikes, Iran takes responsibility, and Iran has clearly denied
responsibility for this".

Marandi argued that the incident instead benefited Washington and the
Israeli occupation and urged authorities in northern Iraq not to adopt
positions that could advance US or Israeli interests in the region.

*Read more: Iran, Oman near final agreement on Strait of Hormuz
arrangements
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran--oman-near-final-agreement-on-strait-of-hormuz-arrangem>*
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