The US military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said.
The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. President Donald Trump had warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the US had shot down an Iranian drone, to Fox News on Tuesday. She added that talks with Iran later this week are still scheduled to take place, she added during an interview on the ‘America Reports’ program.
An Iranian Shahed-139 drone flew towards the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, the US military said.
“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the US military’s Central Command.
No American service members were harmed during the incident and no US equipment was damaged, he added.
Oil futures prices rose more than $1 per barrel after news the drone was shot down.
The US has continued a military buildup in the Middle East since a violent crackdown from the Iranian government against demonstrations last month, considered to be the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution..
President Trump has demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast, but stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown.
He said last week Iran was “seriously talking,” as Tehran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for negotiations were under way.
It is the latest sign of maritime aggression from Iran, after a US tanker was approached by Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz, north of Oman.
Three pairs of Iranian gunboats approached a US -flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman, maritime sources and a security consultancy said on Tuesday.
The tanker, the Stena Imperative, “did not enter Iranian internal territorial waters” and was escorted by a US warship, maritime risk management group Vanguard said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported the incident at 9am (UTC) without specifying the nationality of the ship nor of the boats that approached it. The report said there was “an incident 16NM (nautical miles) north of Oman within the inbound TSS of the Straits of Hormuz.
“A vessel has been hailed on VHF by numerous small armed vessels. The vessel has ignored the request to stop and has continued on its planned route. Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.”
More to follow.
