The U.S. military shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone approaching the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
JUMANA EL HELOUEH
The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down
an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham
Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military
said, in an incident first reported by Reuters.
The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier
“with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 U.S. fighter
jet, it 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 U.S. military’s Central Command.
No American service members were harmed during the incident
and no U.S. equipment was damaged, he added.
The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear
talks between Iran and the United States, and U.S. President
Donald Trump warned that with U.S. warships heading toward Iran,
“bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be
reached.
The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of
a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East following a violent
crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the
deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.
Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to
intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make
nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said
last week Iran was “seriously talking,” while Tehran’s top
security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for
negotiations were under way.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said in another incident
on Tuesday, hours later in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a U.S.-flagged,
U.S.-crewed merchant vessel.
“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V
Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and
seize the tanker,” Hawkins said.
Published on February 3, 2026
