The US military has shot down an Iranian drone that was “aggressively” approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, the US military said in a statement on February 3.
The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying towards the aircraft carrier “with an unclear purpose” and was shot down by a US F-35 fighter jet, the statement said.
“An F-35C fighter jet from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense, in order to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US military’s Central Command.
He added that no US military personnel were injured during the incident and no military equipment was damaged.
The incident came as diplomats are trying to organize nuclear talks between Iran and the US and amid warnings from US President Donald Trump that US warships are headed towards Iran and that “bad things” could happen if a deal is not reached.
The US military has deployed a naval strike group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, near the coast of Iran.
President Trump has not ruled out the possibility of military action against Iran in response to the brutal suppression of anti-government protests that erupted across Iran in late December./
