US fighter jet shoots down Iranian drone ‘aggressively approaching’ aircraft carrier

The US military shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

An Iranian Shahed-139 aircraft flew towards the aircraft carrier and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, a US official confirmed on Tuesday.

A US Central Command spokesman said the drone ‘aggressively approached’ Abraham Lincoln with ‘unclear intent’.

“The aircraft carrier was crossing the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles off the southern coast of Iran when an Iranian Shahed-139 unmanned aerial vehicle unnecessarily maneuvered towards the ship,” the spokesperson added.

Oil prices have rallied after falling more than 4 percent on Monday amid hopes of a deal between Iran and the United States. Brent Crude oil futures increased by 1.24 percent.

Donald Trump warned that ‘bad things will happen’ but signaled that he was hopeful that Iran would come to the table on its nuclear program.

“We’ve got big ships heading to Iran right now, the biggest and the best — and we’re continuing to have talks with Iran and we’ll see how it all plays out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. he said.

‘If we can figure something out that would be great, if we can’t then bad things will probably happen.’

Iran’s president confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of negotiations with the United States, following Trump’s renewed warning.

An Arab official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that a meeting was likely to be held in Türkiye on Friday, following the diplomatic interventions of Egypt, Oman and Qatar, as well as Ankara, but there was no official confirmation from Iran on where the talks would be held.

The US leader has spoken of potential military action and sent an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East last month after anti-government protests in Iran were met with a deadly crackdown.

Trump said he was hopeful Washington would “figure something out” with Tehran, but also warned that “bad things will happen” if a deal is not reached.

While Tehran insists it wants diplomacy, it has promised a decisive response to any attack.

In his post about X, President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote: “I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, provided that a favorable environment exists, free from threats and unreasonable expectations.”

The official added that the talks took place following requests from ‘friendly governments’.

Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that diplomacy with Iran “continues very intensively” “together with all our neighbours”.

President Donald Trump announced the creation of the critical mineral reserve during an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Monday.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian attended a meeting of the heads of the three branches of government in Tehran on Sunday.

A senior UAE official has previously said Iran should reach an agreement and “reestablish relations with the US”.

“I would like to see Iranian-American direct negotiations lead to agreements so we don’t have these problems every day,” presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said.

Iran has repeatedly emphasized that talks should focus solely on the nuclear issue, rejecting the possibility of negotiations on its missile program or defense capabilities.

In an interview broadcast on CNN on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had lost confidence in Washington as a negotiating partner but said an agreement on the nuclear issue was still within reach.

“So I see the possibility of another meeting if the US negotiating team follows what President Trump has said: reaching a fair and equitable agreement to ensure the absence of nuclear weapons,” he said.

Nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington were canceled last year after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, triggering a 12-day war.

Israeli attacks hit nuclear and military facilities as well as residential areas, killing military commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of people. The United States briefly joined the conflict by launching attacks on key nuclear sites.

Iran responded by launching drone and missile attacks on Israel, as well as targeting the US military base in Qatar, the largest in the Middle East.

Since returning to office in January last year, Trump has reimposed his ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions policy on Iran, adding further pain to the floundering economy.

After protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Tehran in December, they escalated into broader anti-government demonstrations across the country, triggering a deadly crackdown by authorities.

Iranian authorities have acknowledged that more than 3,000 people died during the riots, but have attributed the violence to ‘terrorist acts’, insisting that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO, stated that 6,854 deaths had been confirmed, mostly protesters killed by security forces, while other rights groups warned that the figure was likely much higher.

On Tuesday, the NGO said it had counted at least 50,235 arrests linked to the protests and that detentions were continuing.

Meanwhile, local media reported that authorities detained 139 foreign nationals in the central parts of the country during the protests.

Iranian officials said the ‘riots’ were provoked by the US and Israel.

Religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei compared the unrest to a ‘coup’ attempt and warned that a ‘regional war’ could occur if the US attacks his country.