The US Navy claims to have shot down an Iranian drone that was heading near an aircraft carrier.

An Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea was shot down, according to the US military. According to US Central Command on Tuesday, an F-35 fighter plane shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that was approaching the carrier “with unclear intent.”

ran’s UN mission declined to comment on the claims, while Iran’s Tasnim news agency said connection had been lost with a drone in international waters, but the reason was unknown. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that an Iranian drone had completed a “surveillance mission in international waters”.

Central Command said that in another incident on Tuesday, in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) harassed a US-flagged and 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.

Donald Trump stated that “bad things” would likely occur if a deal could not be struck, and the drone incident occurred as diplomats tried to set up nuclear talks between the US and Iran. Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, stated on Tuesday that he had given his foreign minister instructions to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States. This is the first overt indication that Tehran wishes to engage in negotiations with Washington.

In the first formal acknowledgement of the negotiations by the White House, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is still scheduled to meet with Iranian officials in Turkey later this week, despite the drone incident.

Iranian Nour News reported later on Tuesday that Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson stated that talks on the location were still in progress, despite allegations Tehran wanted them to take place in Oman instead of Turkey and limited their discussion to nuclear-related matters. According to the foreign ministry spokeswoman cited by Nour News, Turkey, Oman, and a number of other nations had indicated their willingness to host the gathering.

The reformist president, who had been telling Iranians for weeks that the country’s unrest was out of his control, took a dramatic turn with his announcement. Additionally, it revealed that he obtained the backing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, for negotiations, which the 86-year-old cleric had previously rejected.

Following a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran last month—the bloodiest domestic unrest since the 1979 revolution—the Lincoln carrier strike group is the most conspicuous aspect of a US military expansion in the Middle East.

Trump has subsequently insisted that Tehran make nuclear concessions and has dispatched a flotilla to its coast, but he did not follow through on his threat to intervene during the crackdown. Iran was “seriously talking” last week, he claimed.

The Lincoln carrier strike group is the most obvious example of US military expansion in the Middle East, following a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Iran last month—the worst internal unrest since the 1979 revolution.  Trump did not carry out his promise to step in during the crackdown, but he has since demanded that Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast. He said Iran was “seriously talking” last week.