U.S.-Iran drone encounter clouds prospects for talks

A drone belonging to Iran's armed forces completed a "surveillance mission" in international waters Tuesday, Iranian media reported, shortly after the U.S. military said it had shot down an Iranian aircraft that "aggressively approached" an aircraft carrier.

Citing unnamed sources, the Fars news agency reported that the drone "successfully" monitored military movements in areas adjacent to Iran and transmitted data to ground bases in real time.

The U.S. Central Command said earlier in the day that a U.S. F-35C warplane "was forced" to shoot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the Arabian Sea. The command stated that the drone had "unnecessarily maneuvered" toward the USS Abraham Lincoln while the carrier was transiting international waters approximately 800 km from the Iranian coast.

Also on Tuesday, several Iranian gunboats approached a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman, British media reported, citing maritime sources and a security consultancy.

Iran's Fars news agency said a vessel entered Iranian territorial waters without the necessary legal permits, was warned and left the area, citing unnamed Iranian officials, according to media reports.

The U.S. Central Command said a guided-missile U.S. destroyer responded to the scene and escorted the ship, and the situation de-escalated as a result.

The encounters came amid tentative prospects for U.S.-Iran talks in the coming days.

Earlier in the day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had instructed the Foreign Ministry to pursue "fair and equitable" negotiations with the United States.

Writing on social media platform X, Pezeshkian said the move followed requests from regional governments to respond to a negotiation proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump. He said any talks must take place within a framework of "dignity, prudence and expediency."

While Türkiye has offered to mediate, Iran appears to be seeking to limit the scope of the discussions. U.S. outlet Axios, citing informed sources, reported that Iran prefers Oman as a venue and favors direct talks with the U.S. rather than a broader format involving Arab and Muslim states.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said consultations were underway to finalize a venue for talks expected in the coming days, the official IRNA reported. Baghaei said Türkiye, Oman, and several other regional countries had expressed readiness to host the talks, which Iran highly values.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press on Tuesday that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are still scheduled for later this week.

U.S.-Iran drone encounter clouds prospects for talks

A spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that discussions are ongoing among regional and international partners to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the United States and within the broader region.

Speaking at a media briefing, Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari, the spokesman, said that talks are underway "to bring the parties back to the negotiation table. This is something that we have all been working on collectively."

Al Ansari highlighted coordination with regional neighbors, saying, "Türkiye is playing a big role. Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and all of us in the region are making the right contacts right now and connections to make sure that we are playing a positive role."

He stressed that the only way to resolve the situation is through the "negotiation table."

"Qatar has always seen from day one that the only place where all of these disagreements will be solved is a negotiation table. And prolonging reaching an agreement and delaying getting to the negotiation table will only mean more hardship for the people of the region. Therefore, we've always pushed for the idea that regardless of our evaluation of the parties, regardless of the current status of these disagreements, regardless who the parties are, sitting down on the table is the only way forward for any conflict, any escalation that is happening around the region. And this is why we've been working very closely with our partners on all the conflicts that are blowing or ongoing right now in the region to make sure that we move it towards the negotiations rather than fighting in the field," said Ansari.

Tensions are running high between Iran and the United States, with U.S. President Donald Trump issuing repeated military warnings to Iran.

Collective efforts ongoing to de-escalate regional tensions concerning Iran: Qatari FM spokesman