The United States said Tuesday that its forces shot down an Iranian drone that flew close to a U.S. aircraft carrier operating in the Middle East, describing the encounter as a potential threat to the vessel’s safety.
"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," Central Command spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins said in a statement.
In an emailed statement Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said the drone "aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier with "unclear intent" and it "continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters." The U.S. military says the shootdown also occurred within hours of another incident in which Iranian forces harassed a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which, according to U.S. Central Command, was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran's southern coast. The military's statement noted that no American troops were harmed and no equipment was damaged.
Then, hours later, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the U.S. military said.
According to the military's statement, two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship "at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker."
A group of Iranian gunboats also approached a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman, maritime sources and a security consultancy said on Tuesday.
The Iranian boats ordered the tanker, the Stena Imperative, to stop its engine and prepare to be boarded before it could speed up and continue its voyage, maritime risk management group Vanguard said.
The vessel did not enter Iranian internal territorial waters and was escorted by a U.S. warship, the maritime risk management group said. An American official confirmed it was U.S. flagged.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations earlier said that a group of armed boats attempted to intercept a vessel 16 nautical miles (30 km) north of Oman, without identifying the vessel or the boats.
The agency said it was investigating the incident, which happened in the inbound Traffic Separation Scheme of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency cited unnamed Iranian officials as saying later on Tuesday that a vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters without the necessary legal permits, was warned and left the area "without any special security event taking place."
The strait links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond.
OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.
Three vessels, two in 2023 and one in 2024, were seized by Iran near or in the strait. Some of the seizures followed U.S. seizures of tankers related to Iran.
