U.S., Iran hold first talks since June as Trump threatens annihilation

There were eight suicide attempts by sailors assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group since it began its record-long deployment about 10 months ago, according to a letter from Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao that was obtained Wednesday by CBS News.

CNN was first to report on the letter. A Navy official confirmed it was sent Tuesday.

The deployment of the Lincoln and its approximately 5,000 crew members came under scrutiny after family members of the sailors and members of Congress raised questions last month about the conditions aboard the carrier and concerns about the mental health of its service members.

The Lincoln and its strike group were sent to the Middle East after the Iran war broke out. It has since left the region and is returning to its home base of San Diego.

A defense official told CBS News two of the suicide attempts occurred during active fighting with Iran. The letter covers the entire length of the Lincoln strike group's deployment, which began in November of last year.

The strike group includes the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers and all the embarked aviation squadrons.

The letter was in response to questions from Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York about reported conditions on the ship. In a statement provided to CBS News, Gillibrand said that what President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "dismissed as 'fake news' turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members."

That the Trump administration "can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable," she added.

The U.S. military blockade on the Strait of Hormuz has now redirected 115 commercial vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports, according to U.S. Central Command .

The total is an increase of five ships since Monday, when the military last provided an update.

The blockade has become a renewed topic of conflict as Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations this week at the U.N. General Assembly. Representatives from the United States, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, met with Iranian officials on Tuesday and apparently found some common ground, with President Trump saying the meetings went well.

However, on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei reiterated that no deal will be signed until the U.S. removes the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump is "courageously" fighting against the Iranian regime, the White House said Tuesday in response to a question about Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's speech at the U.N. General Assembly.

"The Iranian regime has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region," Anna Kelly, White House principal deputy press secretary, said in a statement. "The President is courageously ensuring that such an evil country never possesses a nuclear weapon, which will make the entire world safer and more stable."