An Iranian drone was shot down as it aggressively approached an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, a US military spokesman has said.
An F-35C stealth fighter jet which took off from the USS Abraham Lincoln warship shot down the drone in self-defence to protect the aircraft carrier and its personnel, US Central Command spokesman Capt Tim Hawkins said.
The ship was approximately 500 miles from the Iranian coast when the drone approached it with unclear intent. No US equipment was damaged and no service members were harmed.
This incident occurs amid a context of increasing US military presence in the region and escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Iran, demanding negotiations to restrict its nuclear programme. During ongoing discussions, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that Trump remains committed to pursuing diplomacy first, but military options remain on the table.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any attack on the country would lead to a regional war, with no comment issued from Tehran regarding the drone incident.
In a separate incident on the same day, the US military reported harassment of a US-flagged vessel by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz, but the situation was de-escalated with military support.
