Overview
- An F-35C launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone about 800 kilometers off Iran’s southern coast, with no U.S. injuries or damage reported.
- In a separate incident, two IRGC fast boats and a Mohajer drone raced toward the U.S.-flagged Stena Imperative and threatened to board before the USS McFaul escorted the tanker and the situation eased.
- CENTCOM condemned the harassment as unsafe behavior in international waters and warned that such actions increase the risk of miscalculation and will not be tolerated.
- The carrier strike group’s presence in the Arabian Sea forms part of a wider U.S. buildup of naval, air, and missile-defense assets positioned to deter Iran.
- Diplomatic talks are still planned for Friday, and Iranian state-linked media offered a conflicting account of the tanker episode by claiming the vessel entered Iranian waters.