US shoots down Iranian 'Shahed' drone near aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in Arabian Sea

A U.S. Navy F-35 fighter shot down an Iranian Shahed-type drone on Tuesday, February 3, near the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

According to Ukrinform, Bloomberg reported this in an article, citing a statement from the U.S. Central Command, which also oversees the Middle East.

According to U.S. military officials, the F-35 fighter shot down the drone in self-defense when the unmanned aerial vehicle "aggressively approached the USS Abraham Lincoln with -unclear intent."

The Central Command added that no U.S. service members were injured during the incident, and no U.S. equipment was damaged.

Reuters added that the drone approaching the Abraham Lincoln was an Iranian Shahed-139.

Read also: EU approves new sanctions against Iran over repression, support for Russia's war against Ukraine

As Ukrinform reported, Iranian boats with machine guns approached a U.S. oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on the morning of Tuesday, February 3, and ordered the vessel to stop.

Illustrative photo from open sources