F-35 in action in the Middle East. Iranian Shahed shot down near US aircraft carrier

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in an interview with Fox News that the United States armed forces shot down an Iranian drone over the Arabian Sea on Tuesday. She also emphasized that Washington may resume negotiations with Tehran this week.

The incident occurred when the Shahed-139 drone – in the opinion of the American military – “aggressively” approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which was in neutral waters of the Arabian Sea. An F-35 fighter stationed on an aircraft carrier was used to shoot down the drone – said the spokesman for the US Central Command, Navy Captain Tim Hawkins.

He emphasized that the decision to shoot down the drone was dictated by “self-defense and the protection of the aircraft carrier and the personnel on board.” He also added that no American soldiers were hurt in the action and no American equipment was damaged.

Attempt to seize an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

Reuters recalled that on the same day there was another American-Iranian incident involving the armed forces of one of the parties. According to the American army, a few hours earlier, in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, forces of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were to attack a US-flagged tanker with an American crew on board.

“Two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the Stena Imperative tanker at high speed and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins said, quoted by Reuters.

The American company responsible for the vessel's safety emphasized that at the time of the incident, the tanker was outside Iranian territorial waters and was accompanied by a US warship. The incident took place in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Arabian Sea with the Persian Gulf.

“The ships are sailing, but we are talking”

Also on Tuesday, the American authorities confirmed that negotiations with Tehran on regulating bilateral relations may be resumed this week. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that he had instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi to make efforts to ensure that negotiations with the US are “fair and equitable.”

Although US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with intervention in response to the bloody suppression of social protests, in recent days he has also declared that he is willing to enter into talks about the Iranian nuclear program. On Monday, he suggested that talks with Iran were continuing despite high tensions. – Currently, our large ships are sailing to Iran and we are conducting talks with Iran. We'll see how it goes, Trump said. (PAP)

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