US Downs Iranian Drone as Tenuous Middle East Talks Hang in Balance
WASHINGTON — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, the Pentagon’s Central Command said, even as President Donald Trump said Washington is engaged in talks with Tehran to defuse tensions across the Gulf.
U.S. Central Command said the drone, identified as a Shahed-139, “aggressively approached” the carrier and continued toward it despite measures taken by U.S. forces in international waters. CENTCOM said the jet acted in self-defense. The command did not…