WATCH: U.S. military shoots down Iranian drone targeting aircraft carrier with ‘unclear intent’

The U.S. military has shot down an Iranian drone that was targeting an American aircraft carrier with “unclear intent.”

The situation developed when the USS Abraham Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea some 500 miles from Iran’s coast and an Iranian Shahed-139 drone approached.

A report in USA Today the drone was “aggressively” approaching the ship and a fighter jet launched from the vessel shot it down “in self-defense.”

BREAKING: Karoline Leavitt has confirmed a U.S. F-35 SHOT DOWN an Iranian drone which was “aggressively” approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln@PressSec: “CENTCOM made the decision to shoot down the drone… at the direction of President Trump.”

“The president ALWAYS has a… pic.twitter.com/pQfiylG9sm

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 3, 2026

The potential conflict between Iran and the United States has been escalating in recent weeks as the rogue Islamic regime, long demanding its citizens follow its every order, has been executing protesters who have hit the streets in the nation’s largest cities demanding their freedom.

Trump has warned Iran multiple times to halt the killing, and has suggested the regime is on its way out.

The military statement said no Americans were hurt and no American equipment was damaged.

The drone apparently was part of a campaign, the report said, as two Iranian military ships and another drove approached a different American ship “at high speeds and threatened to board…”

The substance of the fight with Iran is over its demand that it obtain nuclear weapons, as it has threatened many times to wipe Israel off the map.

Trump has responded by dispatching military assets to the region.

At ZeroHedge was a report calling the drone shooting episode a “highly dangerous direct first encounter between Iranian and U.S. forces.”