Iran claims to hit third Israeli F‑16 amid war with US, Israel

TEHRAN/DUBAI: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said early Saturday that its air defence units had struck a third F‑16 fighter jet over central Iran, in the latest claim from Tehran as the conflict with Israel and the United States continues to escalate.

In a brief statement, the IRGC’s aerospace force said the aircraft was hit by advanced air defence systems at about 3:45am local time on Saturday. It described the interception as a demonstration of Tehran’s capability to defend its airspace.

The pilot and the fate of the jet were not independently confirmed, and Israel has not issued an immediate response to the latest claim. The battlefield in the air has become increasingly contested since late February, when a joint US‑Israeli campaign first delivered widespread strikes on Iranian soil targeting military infrastructure and command sites.

Background of the ongoing conflict

The present confrontation began on February 28 with what was described by some military analysts as an unprecedented operation involving roughly 200 Israeli warplanes, including F‑16s, striking hundreds of targets across Iran in retaliation for tensions around Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes and regional proxy confrontations.

Since then, Iran’s air defence systems have engaged multiple aircraft and drones, according to Iranian reports. On previous occasions, Tehran’s forces claimed to have intercepted foreign aircraft, though such claims are often difficult to independently verify amid the fog of war.

The conflict has already seen significant losses on both sides, with reports of damage to high‑value military aircraft and increasing regional tensions around key energy routes such as the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts say the air engagements underscore how the once conventional arena of conflict has increasingly involved contested airspace and advanced defence systems, raising the risk of wider escalation as both Tehran and its adversaries seek to assert control of the skies.