Local media in Iran on Friday claimed its Revolutionary Guards had downed two US fighter jets, including an F-15E, saying that its pilot had ejected from the aircraft over southwestern Iran.
Regarding the pilot, the anchor on the local channel of Iranian state television said that anyone who captures them will be rewarded. “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize,” the anchor said.
In addition to this, an on-screen crawl separately called on citizens to “shoot them if you see them”, referring to an alleged social media footage being circulated of what appeared to be US aircraft in the area, the Associated Press reported. However, the channel did not elaborate further on the details regarding the incident.
Mehr news agency had earlier reported that a second US F-35 fighter jet had also been shot down over central Tehran.
‘Pilot ejected, landed inside Iran’: State news agency after Tehran's F-15E claim
Iran's Tasnim news agency said the IRGC ((Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) had destroyed an advanced US fighter jet earlier today, claiming that its “pilot ejected and landed inside the country.”
{{/usCountry}}Iran's Tasnim news agency said the IRGC ((Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) had destroyed an advanced US fighter jet earlier today, claiming that its “pilot ejected and landed inside the country.”
{{/usCountry}}“The Americans, believing their pilot may be alive, are trying to get him out across Iran's border, but some sources say the pilot has likely been captured by Iranian forces,” Mehr news agency reported. Mehr had also earlier called on Iranian citizens to “help capture the pilot” of the F-15E.
Iran claims F-35 downed, says pilot unlikely to survive due to explosion
Meanwhile, Iran also claimed that it shot down a second US F-35 fighter jet over central parts of the country, according to a report by Mehr news agency cited by Reuters news agency.
The agency said the survival of the pilot was unlikely. “A second US fifth-generation F-35 was struck and downed over central Iran by a new IRGC Aerospace Force air-defence system. Given the massive explosion on impact and during the crash, the pilot is unlikely to have ejected,” Iran military's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters spokesperson stated as quoted by Press TV. Iran had earlier, in March, claimed to be the first nation in the world to strike a US F-35 Lightning 2.
Tasnim news agency earlier today released photographs of the jet they claimed had been downed over central Iran on its official X handle. HT has not independently verified the authenticity of the images. The agency did not reiterate earlier claims that the aircraft may have been an F-35, but said the images show markings linking it to the US European Command.