U.S. Shoots Down Iranian Drone Approaching Aircraft Carrier, Official Says

A U.S. official confirmed on Tuesday that the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone as it approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, reported Reuters.

An F-35 shot down the Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the latest escalation of tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have included an explicit threat from President Donald Trump of imminent military action if Iran does not negotiate on dismantling its nuclear program.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt joined Fox News soon after Reuters first broke the news and was asked about the incident.

“The breaking news is that CENTCOM confirms that a U.S. F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed drone that was making an aggressive approach toward the USS Abraham Lincoln. This on the same day that a couple of Iranian gunboats were threatening a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Persian Gulf, threatening to board it. So what is going on to the best of your knowledge? And what is the president going to do about what appear to be some threatening moves being made by Iran, even as Steve Witkoff prepares to meet with the foreign minister, Araghchi, either in Oman or Turkey on Friday?” asked anchor John Roberts.

“Well, sure, John, and thank you for having me today. I did speak with folks over at the Pentagon this morning who said that CENTCOM acted both appropriately and necessarily to protect our U.S. personnel and equipment in the region. So CENTCOM did make the decision to shoot down that Iranian drone. It was unmanned. It was acting aggressively towards our USS Lincoln, which we know that aircraft carrier is in the region at the direction of President Trump,” Leavitt confirmed, adding:

As for the president, he remains committed to always pursuing diplomacy first. But in order for diplomacy to work, of course, it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to engage. And so that’s something the president and Special Envoy Witkoff are exploring and discussing right now. Special Envoy Witkoff is set to have conversations with the Iranians later this week. Those are still scheduled as of right now, but of course, the president always has a range of options on the table, and that includes the use of military force. The Iranians know that better than anyone. Just look no further than the highly successful Operation Midnight Hammer, which took not just Iran, but the entire world by surprise and completely obliterated their nuclear capabilities earlier last year.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

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