US Forces Shoot Down Iranian Drone Over Arabian Sea

A U.S. fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone as it approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Feb. 3, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced.

The incident comes at a moment of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. President Donald Trump recently ordered naval forces to the Middle East, and has threatened military strikes on Iran if it doesn’t agree to new limits on its nuclear development.

CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was operating about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast on Tuesday, when U.S. forces spotted what they identified as an Iranian Shahed-139 drone.

In an emailed press statement, CENTCOM said the Iranian drone “unnecessarily maneuvered toward” the aircraft carrier.

CENTCOM said U.S. forces issued de-escalatory instructions, but the drone continued on its path toward the aircraft carrier. That’s when an F-35C Lighting II stealth fighter jet assigned to the aircraft carrier intervened and shot down the drone.

“No American service members were harmed during the incident, and no U.S. equipment was damaged,” CENTCOM said of the incident.

CENTCOM reported a separate incident hours later, in which two Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel known as the M/V Stena Imperative. The merchant vessel was operating near the Strait of Hormuz at the time.

The IRGC boats allegedly threatened to board the U.S. merchant vessel, but the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived on the scene. The U.S. Air Force also intervened to provide defensive air support.

According to CENTCOM, this second incident de-escalated after the U.S. warship and aircraft intervened.

Last week, CENTCOM issued a direct warning for Iranian forces to avoid provocative behavior near U.S. forces, regional partners, or commercial vessels.

The downing of the Iranian drone comes ahead of planned meetings in Turkey on Friday between U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Speaking with reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “Talks, as of right now, are still scheduled.”

“Obviously, it takes two to tango. You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy. And that’s something that Special Envoy Witkoff is intent on exploring and discussing,” Leavitt said.

She added that Trump has a range of options for dealing with Iran, and referenced the June 2025 strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.