Talks continue as US downs Iranian drone near aircraft carrier

US President Donald Trump says negotiations with Iran are ongoing to ease tensions in the Gulf, even as the US military confirmed it shot down an Iranian drone that approached an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said Washington was in talks with Tehran “right now”, without specifying where those contacts were taking place. The comments came amid heightened military activity following the deployment of US naval forces to the region.

“[The talks] are all over. But they are negotiating. They’d like to do something, and we’ll see if something is going to be done,” Trump said. He added that Iran had missed earlier opportunities for an agreement. “They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn’t work out. And we did ‘Midnight Hammer’, I don’t think they want that happening again,” he said, referring to last June’s US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.

Trump has been pressing Iran to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme, while also threatening renewed military action following Tehran’s recent crackdown on antigovernment protests. The arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf last week, along with thousands of additional US troops, fuelled concerns about a possible confrontation. The carrier strike group joined several other US warships already operating in the region.

Despite that show of force, there have been signs of diplomatic movement. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier on Tuesday that he had instructed the foreign ministry to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency”, as long as a “suitable environment exists”. “These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests,” he added.

That diplomatic messaging coincided with a sharp military incident at sea. US Central Command said a fighter jet from the USS Abraham Lincoln shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that “aggressively approached” the carrier while it was operating about 800 kilometres from Iran’s southern coast. According to CENTCOM, the drone continued toward the ship despite US efforts to de-escalate, prompting the shoot-down “in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board”.

Iranian authorities did not immediately comment. Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source, said contact had been lost with a drone that had already “successfully” transmitted data back to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. An investigation was under way to determine what caused the disruption, the report said.

CENTCOM also reported a separate incident after the shoot-down, saying IRGC forces harassed a US-flagged, US-crewed merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. “Two IRGC boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached M/V Stena Imperative at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker,” the statement said.

Iran’s Fars news agency later quoted unnamed officials who said the vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters without proper permits. The officials said it was warned and left the area “without any special security event taking place”.

Despite the flare-up, both sides signalled that diplomacy remains on track. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, “is set to have conversations with the Iranians later this week”.

“Those are still scheduled as of right now,” she said, adding that talks are expected to take place on Friday.