The U.S. military says an F-35 shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, in an incident reported by Reuters.
The U.S. military said the Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” before it was shot down.
“An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defence and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board,” said Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson at the U.S. military’s Central Command.
He said no American service members were harmed and no U.S. equipment was damaged.
The incident came as diplomats worked to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that with U.S. warships heading toward Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
Trump said last week that Iran was “seriously talking,” while Tehran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, said arrangements for negotiations were under way.
The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most visible part of a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East following what Washington described as a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since 1979.
In a separate incident on Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces harassed a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel.
“Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” Hawkins said.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Tuesday (3 February) for talks on Iran and the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan ahead of Friday’s planned U.S.-Iran meeting in Istanbul.
Witkoff is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials, Israeli Channel 12 reported.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed the planned meeting, framing the visit as part of ongoing coordination with Washington ahead of renewed diplomacy with Tehran later this week.
Israeli officials expect the discussions to focus on implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, including security arrangements and the framework for further hostage releases.
They are also seeking clarity on Washington’s expectations for Gaza’s post-conflict administration.
Iran is expected to feature prominently on the agenda. Israel is preparing to outline its concerns over Tehran’s nuclear activity, missile development and regional networks, as the United States prepares for Friday’s meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Istanbul.
Witkoff’s stop in Israel forms part of a broader regional round of consultations as Washington assesses whether conditions exist for progress on a renewed nuclear track and takes steps to ease regional tensions.
In Friday's Istanbul talks, Witkoff and Araqchi are expected to assess whether a new nuclear understanding is possible. A regional diplomat said officials from Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also expected to attend.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that discussions were under way, linking the diplomatic push to Washington’s military posture.
“We have ships heading to Iran… if we can work something out, that would be great, and if we can’t, probably bad things would happen,” Trump said.
Iranian officials say Tehran is still weighing the terms for resuming negotiations and stress that sanctions relief must be part of any agreement. Iranian sources told Reuters the United States has demanded zero enrichment, limits on ballistic missiles and restrictions on Iran’s regional networks.
Tehran has rejected those conditions but has signalled some room for manoeuvre. One official said Iran could hand over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium under a controlled arrangement. “Now the ball is in Trump’s court,” he said.
Regional mediators, including Türkiye, have urged de-escalation. For both Washington and Tehran, Friday’s meeting is seen as a test of whether diplomacy can slow the current trajectory and open a path to further talks.
Political scientist Daniela Melo said the planned Istanbul meeting reflects a notable shift after a week of heightened tension.
She said President Trump’s deployment of an aircraft carrier, bombers and naval assets created a “threat with teeth”, making the move towards direct talks significant.
“Normally the United States and Iran do not hold direct negotiations,” she said, adding that Friday’s meeting signals a potential opening for de-escalation.
Melo said U.S. priorities remain a permanent end to uranium enrichment, limits on ballistic missiles and curbs on Iran’s support for groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Tehran, she added, expects sanctions relief and, as Araqchi indicated in a CNN interview, has shown openness to discussing enrichment tied to weapons use.
She expressed scepticism about Moscow’s offer to process Iran’s enriched uranium, citing eroding trust and International Atomic Energy Agency figures showing nearly 900 pounds of weapons-grade stock. “Russia may not be the right intermediary here,” she said.
Melo said trust was badly damaged by the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and last year’s 12-day conflict involving Israel, which Iran viewed as undermining diplomatic signals.
Rebuilding confidence, she argued, will require direct engagement, regional involvement and clearer U.S. commitments, with Iran warning that any confrontation could put U.S. bases across the region at risk.
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