U.S. Shoots Down Iranian Drone Approaching Aircraft Carrier in Arabian Sea

The U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone on Tuesday after it “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea with “unclear intent,” military officials said.

“USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was transiting the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when an Iranian Shahed-139 drone unnecessarily maneuvered toward the ship,” Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the U.S. military’s Central Command, told reporters, adding that U.S. service members and U.S. equipment were unharmed.

U.S. Central Command said the Iranian drone “continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” leading the fighter jet to shoot down the drone “in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board.”

President Trump said last week that a “massive Armada is heading to Iran” as officials work to arrange nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran. Trump warned “bad things” could happen if a deal could not be reached.

“It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” Trump said of the armada. “It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary. Hopefully, Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS — one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”

U.S. forces have built up their presence in the Middle East in recent weeks amid unrest in Iran; widespread anti-government protests broke out in late December after the collapse of the country’s rial currency. Iran’s government has said at least 3,000 people have been killed during the protests, while human rights groups estimate the death toll is much higher.

Trump encouraged “Iranian Patriots” to “ KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” in a post on Truth Social last month.

When asked during an interview with CBS last month what his endgame is in Iran, the president said: “The endgame is to win. I like winning.”

“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”

Meanwhile, another incident involving U.S. military forces occurred hours later in the Strait of Hormuz when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces “harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel lawfully transiting the international sea passage,” Hawkins told reporters.

Two boats and a drone approached M/V Stena Imperative “at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” CENTCOM said.

A guided-missile destroyer that was operating in the area “immediately responded to the scene” and escorted M/V Stena Imperative “with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force, with the U.S. military successfully deescalating the situation.