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The Iranian drone shot down by US forces over the Arabian Sea was carrying out surveillance as part of a “routine and legitimate mission over international waters”, Iranian media are claiming.
The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cited a source as saying on Wednesday that an IRGC-operated drone successfully transmitted reconnaissance photos to its command center before the loss of communications.
The source said the drone was carrying out a “routine and legitimate mission over international waters” by engaging in surveillance and imaging duties.
A spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM) previously told Fox News that US forces shot down an unmanned Iranian drone on Tuesday after it “aggressively approached a US Navy aircraft carrier with unclear intentions.”
US military shoots down Iranian drone approaching USS Abraham Lincoln in Arabian Sea, official says
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is shown at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, Aug. 11, 2025. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
“The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was transiting the Arabian Sea approximately 500 miles off the southern coast of Iran when an Iranian Shaheed-139 drone inexplicably moved toward the ship,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins.
CENTCOM also said, “Despite de-escalation measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters, the Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship.” “An F-35C fighter jet from Abraham Lincoln shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel aboard.”
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The USS Abraham Lincoln is sailing in the Pacific Ocean in this photo released in August 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman)
Hawkins said no U.S. service members were injured and no U.S. equipment was damaged during the incident.
President Donald Trump said last week that the USS Abraham Lincoln is in the Middle East, with “a huge armada headed toward Iran.”
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, prepares to land on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean, Aug. 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communications Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)
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Hawkins also told Fox News on Tuesday that, “During a separate incident a few hours later in the Strait of Hormuz, IRGC forces harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant ship lawfully transiting international waters.”
