A US Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching a US aircraft carrier early Tuesday morning.
A US military spokesman said the Iranian drone – a Shahed-139 drone – was shot down when it “aggressively approached” a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday.
An F-35C fighter jet that took off from the warship USS Abraham Lincoln shot down the drone “in self-defense” to protect the aircraft carrier and its personnel, US Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said, as quoted by the BBC.
The Iranian mission to the UN did not immediately comment on the incident.
The ship was approximately 500 miles off the coast of Iran when the drone approached it with “unclear intent.” No US equipment was damaged and no service members were harmed, the report added.
Iran ready to negotiate
Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was ready to negotiate with the US. In a statement on X, Pezeshkian said he told Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to continue talks “provided there is an appropriate environment – an environment free of threats and unreasonable expectations.”
Pezeshkian said Iran would seek “fair and just negotiations” with the U.S., adding that they should be “conducted within our national interests.”
US is negotiating with Iran ‘right now’: Trump
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Tehran and Washington were negotiating and that the Islamic Republic did not want a repeat of the June attacks.
“They’d like to do something and we’ll see if something gets done. They had an opportunity to do something a while ago and it didn’t work out and we did the Midnight Hammer. I don’t think they want that to happen again, but they’d like to negotiate. We’re in talks with them right now.”
Iran-US talks later this week?
According to US media reports, the talks could take place in Istanbul on Friday, with Araghchi scheduled to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet with Iranian officials in Turkey later this week, according to the AP.
She confirmed that the talks are still scheduled despite the drone incident.
“President Trump always wants to do diplomacy first, but of course it takes two to tango,” Leavitt said. “You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy and that is something Special Envoy Witkoff intends to explore and discuss,” she added.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were also reportedly invited to attend.
The Iran-US deal: What’s it all about?
In an interview with CNN, Iranian Minister Araghchi said he was “certain that we can reach an agreement” that would “ensure that there will be no nuclear weapons.”
US President Donald Trump has built up forces in the region and threatened military action if Iran does not reach a deal on its nuclear program and stop killing protesters.
Iran insists its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Asked by reporters about the prospects for a deal, Trump said: “If we can get something done, that would be great, and if we don’t, bad things would probably happen.”
He said a “tremendous force” was headed for Iran, including the “biggest and best” ships.
Whether Iran and the US can reach a deal remains to be seen, especially since Trump has now included Iran’s nuclear program on Tehran’s list of demands in any talks.
Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.
(With input from agencies)
