A Navy fighter jet destroyed an Iranian drone that was headed toward Coronado-based aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.
Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement that the drone “unnecessarily maneuvered toward” the carrier aggressively and kept flying toward the Lincoln, ignoring multiple attempts by U.S. forces to de-escalate the situation.
Hawkins said the Iranian Shahed-139 drone was brought down by an F-35C jet launched from the Lincoln, which at the time was operating roughly 500 miles from Iran’s southern coastline.
U.S. officials emphasized that the encounter resulted in no injuries to American personnel and no damage to U.S. equipment. Iranian state outlets later reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had opened an inquiry into the drone’s loss.
The incident came just hours after Iranian units reportedly interfered with a U.S. merchant vessel as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press.
This adds another event to an already strained relationship between the Trump administration and Iran.
Together, the episodes raise the risk of further escalation between the two countries, as President Donald Trump has warned that military force remains an option – first in response to Iran’s crackdown of widespread protests and second as leverage to back into negotiations over its nuclear program, wrote the Associated Press.
Part of the pressure from the presidential administration comes from Trump building up military forces in the region, deploying aircraft carriers and air defense assets to increase their presence.
