US shoots down Iranian drone that ‘aggressively’ approached an aircraft carrier, military says

The Pentagon, the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense, is seen from the air, Sept. 20, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, FIle) Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action to get Iran to the negotiating table.The drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent” and kept flying toward it “despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement.The shootdown occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said.The developments could further escalate the heightened tensions between the longtime adversaries as President Donald Trump has threatened to use military action first over Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests and then to try to get the country to make a deal over its nuclear program. Trump’s Republican administration has built up military forces in the region, sending the aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, air defense assets and more to supplement its presence. The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast, Hawkins said. No American troops were harmed, and no U.S. equipment was damaged, the military’s statement noted.Hours before the drone was shot down, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on Telegram that he had spoken with his counterparts in Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and Oman regarding regional developments and the importance of protecting “regional stability and security.” US says Iran also harassed a merchant vesselHours after the shootdown, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the military said. Two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship “at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins’ statement said.The destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative “with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force,” the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely.Tensions began to rise again between the U.S. and Iran as the Islamic Republic spent weeks quelling protests that began in late December against growing economic instability before broadening into a challenge to the country’s ruling theocracy.Trump had promised in early January to “rescue” Iranians from their government’s protest crackdown before starting to pressure Tehran again to make a deal over its nuclear program. That is even as the Republican president insists Iranian nuclear sites were “obliterated” in U.S. strikes in June.“We have talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate.“I’d like to see a deal negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that’d be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.” Iran’s president said Tuesday that he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the U.S., marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran that it wants to try to negotiate with Washington despite a breakdown of talks last summer.Turkey had been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. US military builds up presence in the regionMeanwhile, the U.S. military has been moving a growing number of assets into the region over the past several weeks, including the Lincoln and several destroyers, which arrived last week.The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional service members, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region.Analysts of flight-tracking data also have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes heading to the region.The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, like a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the U.S. bombing three key nuclear sites. Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar days after the strikes.The U.S. has several bases in the Middle East, including Al Udeid, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command.___Amiri reported from New York. Amiri covers foreign policy and the United Nations as a correspondent for The Associated Press, based in New York.