The US military confirmed on Tuesday that a fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
Officials said the drone, identified as a Shahed-139, was intercepted by an F-35 after it moved toward the carrier about 500 miles off Iran’s southern coast. A US Central Command spokesman called the drone’s movement an “aggressive approach with unclear intent.”
The incident comes at a time of increased tension between Washington and Tehran. Oil markets responded quickly, with Brent crude futures rising 1.24 percent after a sharp drop the day before, as traders considered the chances of new US-Iran talks.
President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, said: “We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones—the biggest and the best—and we have talks going on with Iran. If we can work something out, that would be great. If we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”
Iran’s president confirmed on Tuesday that he had authorised the start of talks with the United States. Diplomatic sources indicated that a meeting could take place in Turkey on Friday, following mediation efforts by Ankara, Egypt, Oman, and Qatar. However, Tehran has yet to officially confirm the venue.