U.S. military shoots down Iranian drone that ‘aggressively approached’ aircraft carrier

The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that flew toward the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

The incident occurred as tensions in the Middle East are high with President Donald Trump weighing potential military strikes against the Islamic Republic.

The Shahed-139 drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent,” U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told CNBC in a statement.

The Abraham Lincoln was about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast when the unmanned aircraft “unnecessarily maneuvered” toward the ship, Hawkins said. U.S. forces were operating in international waters and took de-escalatory measures, but the drone continued to fly toward the aircraft carrier, he said.

An F-35 warplane from the Abraham Lincoln shot down the drone “in self defense to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” Hawkins said. No U.S. personnel were harmed and no U.S. equipment was damaged, he said.

U.S. crude oil prices were up more than 1% by 1:20 p.m. ET.

Hours later, Iranian forces harassed a U.S. flagged and crewed merchant vessel that was lawfully transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Hawkins said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces threatened to board and seize the M/V Stena Imperative, he said.

A U.S. guided missile destroyer intervened, de-escalated the situation and the merchant vessel is now proceeding safely, Hawkins said.

Trump has deployed the Abraham Lincoln to the Middle East as he threatens Iran with strikes if it does not negotiate a deal over its nuclear program. The president threatened to hit the Islamic Republic during mass demonstrations against the regime last month but ultimately held back from strikes.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.