US military shoots down Iranian drone approaching American Navy aircraft carrier

The US military shot down an Iranian drone on Tuesday (Feb 3) that "aggressively" approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. This came amid the arrangement of nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and America. The incident also occurred after the US President Donald Trump warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier "with unclear intent" and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, the US military said, Reuters reported. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the US military's Central Command, told the news agency, "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."

‘We are sending a larger number of ships to Iran’

Trump issued a warning to Iran amid the diplomatic tensions. During a press conference on Friday (Jan 30), the American president said he hopes a deal with Tehran can be finalised. "We are sending a larger number of ships to Iran. They should make a deal; if they don't, we'll see what happens," he said, while repeating: “We have a large armada heading towards Iran.” He kept on saying, "Iran wants to make a deal, but we will see what happens. Only Iran knows the deadline to strike a deal. I have told them directly my deadline."

The POTUS also said that he would not reveal what his administration was planning "militariy" for Iran. "We have a powerful fleet near Iran. Adding up to 25 battleships. Will build 10 new battleships, up to 25 battleships," he said.