On Thursday afternoon, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a “fact check” debunking claims that Iran had shot down a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury. Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency had also reported that a US pilot may have been in custody.
“CLAIM: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it downed an ‘enemy’ fighter jet over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz,” @CENTCOM wrote in a post on X. It added, “FACT: All US fighter aircraft are accounted for. Iran’s IRGC has made the same false claim at least half a dozen times.”
What is noteworthy about the IRGC’s claims is that they are routinely picked up by state media in Iran and can then spread beyond the region.
The South China Morning Post was among the international news outlets that subsequently posted the “statement” from the IRGC, though it noted the United States had not confirmed the incident.
There have been no confirmed cases of any F-35 lost due to enemy action. Earlier in the war, an Iranian missile damaged an F-35 and caused it to return to base, but the extent of the damage remains unclear.
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