US F-35 Downs Iranian Shahed Drone Near USS Lincoln in Arabian Sea

The US military shot down an Iranian drone that it said “aggressively” approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, according to Reuters on February 3. 

The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” and was downed by an F-35 fighter jet, Reuters reported.

Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at US Central Command, 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.”

He added that no US service members were harmed and no US equipment was damaged. 

Hours later in the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces moved toward a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel at high speed and threatened to board and seize it.

Hawkins said two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the M/V Stena Imperative and issued the threats. 

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Reuters also added that the incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, and after US President Donald Trump warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

Trump has intensified military pressure on Iran as diplomats seek to restart nuclear talks, and Reuters reported that the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of the US buildup in the region after Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests last month.

Earlier, it was reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps moved its Shahid Bagheri “aircraft carrier” to sea amid heightened regional tensions as US naval forces, including the USS Abraham Lincoln, operated nearby.

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