{"id":2563862,"date":"2026-02-03T14:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-tanker-harassed-by-iran-after-u-s-shoots-down-iranian-drone\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T14:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:43:11","slug":"u-s-tanker-harassed-by-iran-after-u-s-shoots-down-iranian-drone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-tanker-harassed-by-iran-after-u-s-shoots-down-iranian-drone\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Escalates Tensions With US, Sending Gunboats To Harass US Tanker and Drone To Confront US Aircraft Carrier"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fu-s-tanker-harassed-by-iran-after-u-s-shoots-down-iranian-drone%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2563862&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Iran escalated tensions with the United States by harassing a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, with six Iranian gunboats attempting to stop the vessel and order it to shut down before the ship was escorted to safety by a U.S. warship. Earlier, a Shahed-139 drone approaching the USS Abraham Lincoln in the arabian Sea was shot down by an F-35C in what the Pentagon called self-defense; no U.S. personnel were injured or equipment damaged. Iranian officials then threatened to withdraw from planned nuclear talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Trump warned that diplomacy could fail and referenced a stronger U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-white-house-affirms-trumps-withdrawal-from-open-skies-treaty-with-russia\/\" title=\"Biden White House Affirms Trump\u2019s Withdrawal From \u2018Open Skies\u2019 Treaty With Russia\">military posture<\/a>. The events come amid a broader U.S. regional buildup, with the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and allied defenses deployed as part of a visible American show of force.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<section id=\"article\">\n<article data-post-title=\"Iran Escalates Tensions With US, Sending Gunboats To Harass US Tanker and Drone To Confront US Aircraft Carrier\" data-post-slug=\"http:\/\/completely-wrong-trump-demands-1-billion-from-harvard-contradicting-new-york-times-report\" data-post-url id=\"print-2111410\">\n<div>\n<h2>A US destroyer escorted the tanker to safety, while a US <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fighter jet destroyed<\/a> the drone<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tAn F-14 takes off from the USS Abraham Lincoln, August 2002 (Koichi Kamoshida\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Iran escalated tensions with the United States on Tuesday, harassing a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz hours after sending a drone toward a U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-dni-chief-ufos-seen-that-replicate-technology-unavailable-to-humans\/\" title=\"Former DNI Chief: UFOs Seen That Replicate Technology Unavailable To Humans\">aircraft carrier<\/a>&mdash;an aggressive move that ended with an American fighter jet shooting the drone down.<\/p>\n<p>Six Iranian gunboats armed with .50-caliber machine guns attempted to stop the tanker as it transited the waterway, ordering the vessel to shut down its engines and prepare to be boarded, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/iranian-gunboats-tried-to-stop-u-s-flagged-tanker-7332152a?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdhuWTlqVfAp5LB8JT5NmHE7z2UJmd4Y46pS6gWcNYhKqvL7y2ej9o5Fsb4FaQ%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69823095&amp;gaa_sig=FeXIO9wh_JB9cWhfxhPKZnBmViOfRRY8PsmpQIGz7ID0l_xnySieYqtKkN3GulRcRGQS4Wq1mNQ-66YFEHjhFg%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according<\/a> to the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>. The ship ignored the demand, accelerated, and was later escorted to safety by a U.S. warship.<\/p>\n<p>Hours earlier, the U.S. military shot down an Iranian Shahed&#8209;139 drone after it &#8220;aggressively&#8221; approached the USS <em>Abraham Lincoln<\/em> in the Arabian Sea, Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-shoots-down-iranian-drone-approaching-aircraft-carrier-official-says-2026-02-03\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>. The drone was destroyed by an F-35C fighter jet launched from the carrier, a spokesman at the military&rsquo;s Central Command said, describing the action as self-defense.        <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The aircraft carrier and personnel on board were threatened,&#8221; Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins said, adding that no U.S. service members were injured and no American equipment was damaged.<\/p>\n<p>Iranian officials on Tuesday threatened to withdraw from planned nuclear talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump&rsquo;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, negotiations that were set to take place in Turkey on Friday. Trump has warned that &#8220;bad things&#8221; could happen if diplomacy fails.<\/p>\n<p>Iran has periodically harassed commercial shipping during past standoffs, but such incidents have been rare in recent months, according to the <em>Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The incidents come as Washington continues a major military <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/the-next-attack-will-be-far-worse-trump-warns-iranian-regime-to-swear-off-nuclear-program-for-good-or-face-us-strike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">buildup<\/a> in the region amid rising tensions with Tehran. The <em>Abraham Lincoln<\/em> carrier strike group&mdash;along with F-35 jets and missile defense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/before-any-strike-on-iran-u-s-needs-to-bolster-air-defenses-in-mideast-faca35a9?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">systems<\/a>&mdash;arrived last month as part of what President Donald Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/115972658725010644\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">described<\/a> as an American &#8220;armada&#8221; moving toward Iran.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Like with Venezuela,&#8221; Trump wrote, &#8220;it is ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.&#8221; Trump warned that Iran must &#8220;quickly &lsquo;Come to the Table&rsquo; and negotiate a fair and equitable deal.&#8221; He noted that he attempted to engage Tehran to make a deal before the United States&rsquo; bombing of Iran&rsquo;s nuclear sites. &#8220;They didn&rsquo;t, and there was &lsquo;Operation Midnight Hammer,&rsquo; a major destruction of Iran. The next attack will be far worse! Don&rsquo;t make that happen again,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US ships guard tanker; jet downs drone; Iran tensions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":2563863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/us-aircraft-carrier-abraham-lincoln-en-route-to-mideast-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,544,33651],"tags":[7237,72787,72785,72786],"class_list":["post-2563862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-free-beacon","category-the-western-journal","tag-drones","tag-gunboats","tag-iran-us-tensions","tag-naval-escalation"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/us-aircraft-carrier-abraham-lincoln-en-route-to-mideast-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2563862"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2563869,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563862\/revisions\/2563869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2563863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2563862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2563862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2563862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}