ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian authorities on Friday claimed they shot down a US fighter jet, with videos circulating on Iranian Telegram channels showing an aircraft flying at low altitude, reportedly in southern Iran to conduct search-and-rescue operations.
In a post on X, Barak Ravid, a political reporter for the American website Axios, cited a source “familiar with the incident” saying a US fighter jet had been shot down over Iran earlier in the day.
US officials, however, including the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), have not publicly confirmed or denied this specific incident.
Hours earlier, CENTCOM had rejected a similar claim made Thursday by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which alleged that a US fighter jet had been shot down over the Persian Gulf.
“All U.S. fighter aircraft are accounted for,” CENTCOM said in a post on X, adding that “Iran’s IRGC has made the same false claim at least half a dozen times.”
Meanwhile, IRGC-affiliated media outlets on Friday published photos and videos reportedly showing what they said was an ejection seat from the purported aircraft, along with footage of American planes conducting search operations for crew members.
Several videos circulated by Iranian outlets also showed local tribal fighters in southern Iran firing at low-flying attack helicopters with AK-47s.
Iranian state TV called on tribal residents in the Yasuj area, in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, to locate the pilot.