The US military shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, according to US Central Command. An F-35C fighter jet downed the Iranian Shahed-139 drone on Tuesday after it flew toward the carrier "with unclear intent," the military said.
"An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defence and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board," said Captain Tim Hawkins, a navy spokesperson at Central Command. No US service members were harmed and no equipment was damaged.
Iran's UN mission declined to comment on the incident. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that connection had been lost with a drone in international waters, though the cause remained unknown. The semi-official Fars news agency claimed that an Iranian drone had completed a "surveillance mission in international waters."
In a separate incident on Tuesday, Iranian Revolutionary Guards harassed a US-flagged merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. "Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker," Hawkins said.
The drone incident occurred as diplomats worked to arrange nuclear negotiations between the two countries. Donald Trump said that with US warships heading toward Iran, "bad things" would likely happen unless a deal could be reached. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded by instructing his country's foreign minister to "pursue fair and equitable negotiations" with the US, marking the first clear signal that Tehran wanted to negotiate with Washington.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff still plans to hold talks with Iranian officials later in the week despite the drone incident. However, Iran's foreign ministry said consultations were still underway on the venue, with reports suggesting Tehran preferred Oman over Turkey and wanted discussions limited to nuclear-related issues.
Pezeshkian's announcement represented a significant shift for the reformist president, who had previously told Iranians that the country's turmoil had gone beyond his control. The statement indicated support from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for negotiations that the 86-year-old cleric had previously dismissed.
The Lincoln carrier strike group represents the most visible aspect of a US military buildup in the Middle East following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations in Iran last month, the deadliest domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution. Trump has demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and deployed a flotilla to Iran's coast. He said last week that Iran was "seriously talking."