A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, adding that the episode occurred amid broader U.S.-Iran friction and comes as Washington weighs possible next steps. Central Command said Capt. Tim Hawkins characterized the drone’s approach as threatening and said the drone kept flying toward the carrier despite steps intended to de-escalate.
Hawkins said Central Command believed the drone’s intent was “unclear,” and he said the drone “aggressively approached” the carrier. Central Command said the incident happened despite “de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” and it said the shootdown occurred within hours of another maritime episode involving a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel.
Central Command said the developments followed harassment of the Stena Imperative, describing how Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces used two boats and a Mohajer drone to approach the ship “at high speeds” and “threatened to board and seize the tanker.” According to Central Command, the destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative with “defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force,” and the merchant vessel was later reported to be sailing safely.
Central Command said the Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln as the carrier sailed about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast. The statement said no American troops were harmed and no U.S. equipment was damaged. After the shootdown, Iranian state media reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was investigating what it called the “interruption” of the drone, and Tasnim reported on Telegram that the drone had successfully transferred images it took back to Iran before the footage cut out.
The U.S. account adds to a wider context in which Trump’s administration has built up military forces in the region and has warned of possible military action. The Associated Press report said the developments could escalate heightened tensions as President Donald Trump has threatened to use military action first tied to Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests and then to try to press Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear program.
The report said talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials were still planned, with White House and Iranian officials both indicating that discussions would proceed. Trump did not specify where the talks would take place, but he told reporters “we are negotiating with them right now,” and he referenced U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June, saying, ”I don’t think they want that happening again.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that he instructed Iran’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the U.S. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also told state TV that talks were expected in the next few days, while indicating that details—including the location—were still under discussion. Tasnim reported that Turkey and Oman, among other regional countries, had offered to host the talks.
The Associated Press report traced the renewed rise in tensions to recent weeks in which Iran queltled protests that began in late December against growing economic instability and expanded into a challenge to the country’s ruling theocracy. It also said Trump had promised in early January to “rescue” Iranians from the government’s protest crackdown before starting renewed pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.
The report said that, alongside the diplomatic track, the U.S. military has been moving more assets into the region over the past several weeks, including the Lincoln and multiple destroyers that arrived last week. It said the carrier strike group added roughly 5,700 service members and joined destroyers and littoral combat ships already in the area, and it noted that flight-tracking analysts have observed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes heading to the region.