US F-35 downs Iran drone as IRGC boats target tanker near Hormuz
The US military accused Iran of "unnecessary aggression" after shooting down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and IRGC vessels approached a US-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz ahead of US-Iran talks later this week.
WASHINGTON — A US F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone near an American aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean early Tuesday, just hours before Iranian fast boats attempted to halt a US-flagged oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said.
The two alleged incidents threatened to raise tensions between the US and Iranian militaries as both sides adjust their postures ahead of a new round of planned talks between American and Iranian officials over ending Tehran’s nuclear program.
Several Iranian boats approached the US-flagged Stena Imperative and ordered it to shut down its engines, the Wall Street Journal first reported, citing a notice distributed by the maritime security advisory firm Vanguard Tech. Vanguard reported six Iranian boats, each armed with two .50 caliber machine guns, had approached the Stena Imperative.
However, a US military official said in a statement that just two boats belonging to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an Iranian Mohajer drone had approached the tanker "at high speeds" and threatened to board the vessel.
A US Navy guided-missile destroyer operating in the area, the USS McFaul, immediately approached the Stena Imperative and escorted the tanker "with defensive air support from the US Air Force," according to US Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM). "The situation de-escalated as a result, and the US-flagged tanker is proceeding safely," Hawkins said.
Open-source ship-tracking site Marine Traffic listed the tanker as currently cruising toward Bahrain.
Hours earlier on Tuesday, some 500 miles off the Iran's southern coast in the Arabian Sea, a US F-35C fighter jet launched from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that had "aggressively approached" the Lincoln "with unclear intent," according to Hawkins.
"The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by US forces operating in international waters," he said in the statement. The US F-35C shot down the drone "in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board. No American service members were harmed during the incident, and no US equipment was damaged," Hawkins said.
Why it matters: The incidents are the first to be reported between US-flagged ships and Iranian naval forces near the economically vital Strait of Hormuz since President Donald Trump’s renewed threats to strike Iran militarily.
The Pentagon has been amassing a sizable contingent of warships and combat aircraft near Iran in recent weeks while presenting military strike options for the White House. Trump has called on Iran’s leaders to negotiate over Tehran’s nuclear enrichment program, against which he previously authorized US air and naval strikes last June.
It was not immediately clear why Iranian forces attempted to intercept the tanker.
What’s next: American and Iranian diplomats are reportedly preparing to head to Ankara for initial talks on Friday hosted by the Turkish government.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday that US officials were still scheduled for talks with Iran later this week despite the incidents at sea. The White House has not publicly confirmed a location for the anticipated talks.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday his government was open to "fair and reasonable" talks with US officials over Tehran's nuclear program. Trump has repeatedly threatened to authorize a new round of military strikes against Iran if Iranian officials don't reach a negotiated end to the country's nuclear enrichment.
Know more: US military officials say they are keeping a sharp eye on the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly one-third of global oil shipments transits each day.
Last week, the US military publicly warned the Iranian navy after Iran announced it would conduct live-fire drills in a northeastern sector of the strait.
“CENTCOM will ensure the safety of US personnel, ships, and aircraft operating in the Middle East,” the command, which oversees all American military forces in the Middle East, said in a statement issued Saturday.
“We will not tolerate unsafe IRGC actions including overflight of US military vessels engaged in flight operations, low-altitude or armed overflight of US military assets when intentions are unclear, high-speed boat approaches on a collision course with US military vessels, or weapons trained at US forces,” Hawkins warned in his statement on Tuesday.
Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz should the Islamic Republic’s leadership come under attack.
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
