US forces shot down an Iranian drone. Nuclear negotiations plans remain unaffected.

The US Navy shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching one of their aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea. However, this incident did not affect the planned US-Iran nuclear negotiations.

According to reports from various news sources, a spokesperson for the US military said that a US F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the US aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" on Tuesday (February 3rd). At that time, the aircraft carrier was about 800 kilometers away from the Iranian coast.

The spokesperson of the US Central Command, Hawkins, said that the US military initially took measures to ease the situation, but the "Witness-139" drone (Shahed-139) continued to fly towards the US ships. Eventually, the US forces shot it down.

On the same day, the US military also responded to the claim made by Iranian vessels that they would board a US-owned oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

At the end of December last year, anti-government protests broke out in Iran and the authorities carried out a deadly crackdown. US President Trump threatened to take military action against Iran and dispatched a naval fleet to the Middle East.

Trump said that he hoped Washington could reach some kind of agreement with Tehran, but also warned that if no agreement was reached "bad things might happen". Iran, on the other hand, insisted on resolving the issue through diplomacy and vowed to respond decisively to any act of aggression.

White House press secretary Levetter told reporters on Tuesday that although US military aircraft had shot down an Iranian drone in the Arabian Sea, the US still plans to hold nuclear negotiations with Iranian officials later this week.

She said, "President Trump has always advocated for seeking diplomatic solutions as the priority, but it is clear that it requires the joint efforts of both sides."

The US and Iran are expected to resume nuclear talks in Istanbul, Turkey on Friday (the 6th). However, US media reports say that the Iranian side hopes to find another venue for the talks. Trump has not yet disclosed where the negotiations will take place.