The US Navy in the Persian Gulf “intercepted” an Iranian drone “operating in an unsafe and unprofessional” manner, CENTCOM reported on Saturday.

Announcing the incident on X, the US military did not provide more detail except a photo taken from a US aircraft showing an unmanned aerial aircraft flying above what appeared to be an aircraft carrier. It did not say if the drone had left after it was intercepted, or what that term exactly meant.

Iranian military officials boasted earlier that their drones were closely following the US naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier Dwight D Eisenhower that entered the Persian Gulf earlier in the week. The naval group was first sent to the eastern Mediterranean after war broke out between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 attack on Israel that killed more than 1,000 civilians and the taking of more than 200 hostages by Hamas.

Despite daily statements in support of Hamas, Iran has avoided direct involvement in the war, but its proxy forces in the region have attacked US forces dozens of times since mid-October.

Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC navy said on Friday that warships belonging to foreign countries were in the Persian Gulf region only to “foment tensions”.

Tangsiri claimed earlier in the week that his forces had sent drones to harass the operations of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier and its strike group. The incident was confirmed and described as "unsafe, unprofessional and irresponsible" in a statement issued Wednesday by US Naval Forces Central Command chief Vice Admiral Brad Cooper.