Iran has claimed that its air defence systems shot down a US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet near the country’s southwestern border, a report that the United States has strongly denied.
According to Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim, an informed source said the aircraft was targeted by Iran’s air defence unit and destroyed after being hit.
The report said the two-seat fighter jet was brought down near Iran’s border region but did not specify when the incident occurred.
Iranian military sources earlier said the country’s indigenous air defence systems had already shot down three US fighter jets in recent days.
The claims come amid heightened military tensions in the region, with Iranian outlets circulating images and footage allegedly showing damaged US aircraft and pilots ejecting before their warplanes crashed.
However, the United States rejected the report.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, United States Central Command said rumors circulating about the crash of a US F-15E in Iran were “baseless and false.”
“Rumors circulating on social media of a U.S. F-15E crash in Iran early Wednesday are baseless and NOT TRUE,” the command said.
If confirmed, the incident would mark the fourth F-15E the United States has lost during the ongoing conflict involving Iran and Israel.
Earlier reports suggested that three US F-15E fighter jets had been mistakenly shot down by Kuwait’s air defence forces after entering Kuwaiti airspace, although details of those incidents remain contested.
