DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A U.S. aircraft carrier ordered by the White House to rapidly deploy to the Mideast over a perceived threat from Iran has transited the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since its deployment.

The U.S. Navy says the carrier Abraham Lincoln transited the strait on Tuesday, making its way to the Persian Gulf. The carrier left Norfolk, Virginia, in April and was diverted to the Middle East in May, but it had remained in the Arabian Sea, avoiding passage through the strait that borders Iran.

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American aircraft carriers have for decades sailed through the international oil shipping route in what the U.S. describes as “defensive” operations aimed at keeping the strait open.

The Trump administration deployed the Lincoln to the Persian Gulf amid a spike in tensions with Iran.

Navy Times editor’s note: I just looked at this and saw AP can’t tell the difference between a guided-missile cruiser and an aircraft carrier. I fixed the caption at the top.

Lincoln Strait f Hormuz

A helicopter lifts off of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln as it transits the Strait of Hormuz on Nov. 19. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Stephanie Contreras/Navy via AP)

USS Abraham Lincoln

The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, left, the British air-defense destroyer Defender and the U.S. Navy's guided-missile destroyer Farragut transit the Strait of Hormuz on Nov. 19, with the guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Zachary Pearson/Navy via AP)

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