Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Liveupdated

Trump-Iran live updates: US military shoots down Iranian drone in Arabian Sea

The incident came ahead of planned talks between Iran and the United States

'If we can't talk to Iran, bad things could happen' says Trump in latest threat

The US on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that "aggressively" approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said.

The incident came as diplomats sought to arrange nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. President Donald Trump had warned that with US warships heading toward Iran, "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

White House ‌press ​secretary ​Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the US had shot ‌down an Iranian drone, to Fox News ‍on ​Tuesday. She added that talks ‍with Iran later ⁠this week are still scheduled to take place, she added during an ‌interview ​on the 'America Reports' program.

An Iranian Shahed-139 drone flew towards the carrier “with unclear intent” and was shot down by an F-35 US fighter jet, the US military said.

Iranian drone completed surveillance mission in international waters, Iranian media say

An Iranian drone completed a "surveillance ‌mission in international waters," Iranian media including ‌the ​semi-official ​Fars news ‍agency said ‍on Tuesday.

The ​US ‍military on Tuesday shot ‍down an ⁠Iranian drone that "aggressively" approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the ‌US military ​said earlier.

Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 22:00

Watch: Omid Djalili: Iranians will fight to the very end against this regime

Omid Djalili: Iranians will fight to the very end against this regime
Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 21:30

Iran's foreign ministry says consultations for venue of talks with US are underway

‌Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said ‌consultations for the venue ‌of ​talks ​with the ‍United States were ‍underway, ​Iranian Nour ‍News reported on ‍Tuesday.

The spokesperson ⁠said planning has been carried out to hold the negotiations with the ‌US in the coming days.

Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 21:00

The potential outcomes if Trump strikes Iran

The US president has renewed threats against Iran, weeks after promising to come to the aid of anti-government protesters.

The potential outcomes if Trump strikes Iran

The US president has renewed threats against Iran, weeks after promising to come to the aid of anti-government protesters
Daniel Keane3 February 2026 20:52

Netanyahu tells Witkoff that Tehran 'won't honour nuclear agreement'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday amid efforts to revive diplomacy over Iran's nuclear programme that Tehran was unlikely to honour any potential agreement.

In a meeting with the US envoy, Netanyahu "made clear his position that Iran has repeatedly proven that its promises cannot be trusted," a statement from his office said.

Two Israeli officials said the meeting was also attended by Israel's spy agency head David Barnea, Defence Minister Israel Katz and military commander Eyal Zamir.

Daniel Keane3 February 2026 20:22

Why Iran is the wrong war for Trump to back

Trump may be very proud of his ‘armada’ off the coast of Iran but the US president could look good, back a winner, and support his allies by leaving Tehran alone and helping Ukraine win instead, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley.

Why Iran is the wrong war for Trump to back

Trump may be very proud of his ‘armada’ off the coast of Iran but the US president could look good, back a winner, and support his allies by leaving Tehran alone and helping Ukraine win instead, writes world affairs editor Sam Kiley
Daniel Keane3 February 2026 20:05

Who else is invited to US-Iran talks?

Several foreign ministers from nearby countries have been invited to this week’s talks, including from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 19:48

Watch: Trump fires back at Iranian supreme leader’s ‘regional war’ warning

Trump fires back at Iranian supreme leader's 'regional war' warning
Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 19:43

'It takes two to tango' with diplomacy, says White House press secretary

White House press secretary has affirmed intentions to continue talks with Iran but said “it takes two to tango”.

"President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango," said Karoline Leavitt. "You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy, and that's something that special envoy Witkoff is intent on exploring and discussing."

Leavitt's comments came soon after US Central Command announced that a US Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.

Leavitt added, "As always, though, of course, the president has a range of options on the table with respect to Iran."

(Getty Images)
Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 19:37

US president's three conditions for resuming talks with Iran

The US president has demanded three conditions for resuming talks, according to Iranian sources. These include zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional proxies.

Tehran has previously rejected these demands as unacceptable impediments on its sovereignty, but Iranian officials have suggested that the regime’s clerical rulers see limits on the ballistic missile programme, rather than uranium enrichment, as a bigger obstacle.

Bryony Gooch3 February 2026 19:32

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in