US carrier shoots down Iranian drone as tensions escalate and diplomatic talks hit a snag
A US aircraft carrier shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively approached” the ship in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday hours before two gunboats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps approached a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board and seize the ship, according to a US military spokesman. The two incidents occurred days before US and Iranian officials are due to meet Friday for diplomatic negotiations meant to avert a military clash. In the first incident on Tuesday, US forces shot down an Iranian drone “as the unmanned aircraft aggressively approached” the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which was transiting the Arabian Sea about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a US Central Command spokesman. “The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters,” Hawkins said. An F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln shot down the drone to pro...