, Feb. 4 -- A tense aerial encounter between the United States and Iran on Tuesday has cast uncertainty over the prospects of upcoming talks between the two rivals.

Iranian media reported that a drone operated by Iran's armed forces had completed a surveillance mission in international waters, monitoring military movements near the country and transmitting data in real time. The semi-official Tasnim news agency later said Iran had lost contact with one of its drones, adding that the cause was under investigation.

Earlier, the U.S. Central Command said a U.S. F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the Arabian Sea after it "aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The carrier was operating in ...