The US military shot down an Iranian drone on Tuesday, saying it “aggressively” approached an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.
The escalation comes amid preparations for nuclear talks between the US and Iran on Friday, which the Islamic Republic has insisted take place in Oman according to reports.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday: “We are negotiating with them right now”.
The Iranian-139 drone is reported to have flown towards a US Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, according to the US military.
The aircraft “continued to fly towards the ship, part of a ‘large armada’ deployed in the region, despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters”, according to US military spokesperson and Navy Captain Tim Hawkins.
No US military personnel were harmed and no equipment were damaged in the incident about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that connection had been lost with a drone in international waters but said that the reason was unknown.
On the same day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces are reported to hav e harassed a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US Central Command.
“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Captain Hawkins said.
The destroyer USS McFaul responded to the incident and escorted the Stena Imperative “with defensive air support from the US Air Force”, according to the statement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the drone incident and said she had been informed by the Pentagon that CENTCOM had “acted both appropriately and necessarily to protect our US personnel and equipment in the region”.
She said the aircraft was unmanned and “acting aggressively towards our USS Lincoln, which we know that aircraft carrier is in the region at the direction of President [Donald] Trump”.
President Trump “remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first,” she told Fox News. “But in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to engage. And so that’s something the president and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are exploring and discussing right now.”
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Ms Leavitt confirmed that Mr Witkoff is scheduled to have discussions with Iran later this week, adding that “those are still scheduled as of right now, but of course the president always has a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force”.
Iran and the US are expected to hold nuclear talks in Oman on Friday, according to an Axios report. The Trump administration reportedly agreed to Tehran’s request to shift the venue from Turkey, while discussions are still ongoing about whether regional Arab and Muslim countries will join the negotiations.
Trump had warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
Tensions have escalated since unrest in Iran erupted over an economic crisis worsened by sections. In a brutal crackdown by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime, over 6,000 protesters are reported to have been killed.
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