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3. U.S. Downs Iranian Drone Flying Toward Aircraft Carrier

A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday. 

The drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier with “unclear intent” and kept flying toward it “despite deescalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement.

The shootdown was followed by a second incident in which Iranian forces harassed a U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the American military. The episode also came as Iran was reportedly seeking to change the location and format of negotiations scheduled to take place in Turkey on Friday.

The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast, Hawkins said. No American troops were harmed, and no U.S. equipment was damaged, the military’s statement noted.

Iranian state media reported that Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is investigating the “interruption” of the drone. Semi-official Tasnim news agency posted on its Telegram that before the footage cut out, the drone was able to successfully transfer the images it took back to Iran.

American officials told the Wall Street Journal that Trump considered walking away from negotiations with Iran following the naval confrontations, but ultimately chose not to. The report did not explain why Trump ended up deciding not to leave the talks.

Iranian Demands

A regional source said Tuesday that Iran is demanding that the talks be held in Oman not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way negotiations on nuclear issues only. The regional diplomat with knowledge of Iran’s demands said Tehran sought “to change the format, they want to change the scope.”

“They only want to discuss the nuclear file with the Americans while the U.S. wants to include other topics such as the (ballistic) missiles and the activities of Iran’s proxies in the region,” the diplomat added.

Axios later reported that the Trump administration agreed to move the talks to Oman. The source added that negotiations were still being held on whether any Arab or Muslim countries would also take part in the Oman talks.

Israel Sets Red Lines Ahead of Iran Talks

A senior diplomatic official later told Channel 12 that Israel has set out several critical requirements for U.S. negotiators ahead of talks with Iran, insisting that Washington hold firm on four key demands: that Iran transfer its highly enriched nuclear material to another country, fully halt nuclear enrichment, cease the production of ballistic missiles, and end funding for anti-Israel proxy groups across the Middle East.

“Every agreement that does not include these conditions is a bad agreement. This administration has proven its commitment to Israel in every area, and specifically in the Iranian area,” the senior official told Channel 12.

He added that, “Israel has influenced in the past, and will influence this time too” in negotiations between the two powers.

U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with Netanyahu this week, who according to his office, emphasized in the meeting that “Iran has repeatedly proven it cannot be trusted to keep its promises.”

Witkoff is expected to attend the meeting with Iranian officials later this week.