The United States military says it shot down an Iranian drone that approached an American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

In a statement on Tuesday, US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said a US fighter jet from the USS Abraham Lincoln “shot down the Iranian drone in self-defense and to protect the aircraft carrier and personnel on board”.

The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which CENTCOM said was sailing about 800km (500 miles) from Iran’s southern coast.

There was no immediate comment from the Iranian authorities on the incident.

More to come…