The US military says a US fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea after it flew aggressively toward an aircraft carrier, but an Iranian news agency said the drone was on a reconnassance mission.
Washington is preparing for talks with Tehran later this week.
According to US spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins, a Shahed-139 drone approached the USS Abraham Lincoln with unclear intent and was destroyed by an F-35C launched from the ship “despite US de-escalation efforts.”
He added that the drone kept closing on the carrier, part of a large US naval deployment operating in international waters, and that no personnel or equipment were harmed about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast.
Iranian media disputed the account, saying the drone was on a surveillance mission in international waters. Later on Tuesday, Iranian forces harassed a US-flagged and crewed merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.
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