The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday that it successfully struck a US Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet over central Iran. According to the IRGC statement, the jet was hit at 2:50 a.m. local time using “advanced, modern air defense systems.”
“The fate of the fighter jet is unclear and under investigation, and the likelihood of its crash is very high,” the statement said.
The IRGC noted that the strike follows the interception of more than 125 US-Israeli drones by Iran’s defense systems, highlighting significant upgrades in the country’s integrated air defense network. Further details of the incident remain under investigation.
CNN cited sources familiar with the situation, confirming that the US F-35 made an emergency landing at a US airbase in West Asia after being struck, believed to be by Iranian fire. Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for US Central Command, said the fifth-generation stealth jet was on a combat mission over Iran when it was forced to land and that the incident is being investigated.
This is reportedly the first time Iranian forces have hit a US aircraft since the conflict escalated in late February with the assassination of Iran’s Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. The United States and Israel have deployed F-35s in the war, each valued at over $100 million.
Meanwhile, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed on Thursday that the US is “winning decisively” and asserted that Iran’s air defenses have been “flattened.” Hegseth’s statements reflect a broader, controversial stance, as noted by observers who have criticized his extremist symbolism and rhetoric, including tattoos of the Jerusalem Cross and the phrase “Deus Vult” (“God Wills It”), as well as his self-published book American Crusade, which frames military operations against Iran as a modern-day crusade.
