Plumes of smoke rise following an explosion on March 5, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — A U.S. fighter jet went down over Iran Friday but the status of the plane’s crew remained unclear, according to several media reports. Iranian state media reported the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible.
The attack marks the first time Iran has shot down U.S. military aircraft since the war’s start. Reuters and the New York Times have cited U.S. officials confirming the incident. Axios has cited two unnamed sources.
The Pentagon has not responded to States Newsroom’s requests for confirmation of the reports.
A U.S. military search and rescue operation is reportedly underway, according to American officials cited in the Times report and Iranian state media.
U.S. Central Command, which posts about the war every day on social media, had not posted information about the downed jet as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern.
The IRGC reportedly downed an F-35 jet over central Iran and the crew ejected from the plane, according to the Iranian Tasmin News Agency, citing IRGC officials.
Tasmin also claimed U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 Hercules aircraft were searching for the pilot.
Trump vowed to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’
The apparent attack came two days after President Donald Trump delivered a formal primetime address telling the nation the U.S. objectives in Iran were “nearing completion” but that American forces would be hitting Iran “extremely hard” over the next two to three weeks.
The U.S. entered the joint war with Israel on Feb. 28, killing the country’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous other senior leaders. Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has taken over as the Islamic state’s top cleric, according to Iran’s government, but he has not been seen in public.
The fighting continues to rock global energy markets after Iran’s takeover of the Strait of Hormuz, a major passageway for one-fifth of the world’s petroleum and liquid natural gas supply.
A gallon of gas in the U.S. now costs just above $4 on average, according to AAA, the highest since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine. Brent crude oil, the international standard, was trading at $109 a barrel as of Friday morning.
The war has taken thousands of civilian lives across the Middle East and injured tens of thousands more. Thirteen U.S. troops have been killed.
Energy and other civilian infrastructure has been badly damaged in Iran and across the region. Trump posted a video on Thursday on his social media platform, Truth Social, of U.S. strikes destroying a major bridge connecting the country’s capital Tehran to Karaj.
Trump has repeated several times over the past week that the U.S. will bomb Iran “back to the stone ages.”
This is a developing report that will be updated.
Hence then, the article about reports us fighter jet downed over iran status of crew unknown was published today ( ) and is available on NC news line ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Reports: US fighter jet downed over Iran, status of crew unknown )
Also on site :
- What it takes to retire comfortably in America: Nearly $1.5 million, Northwestern Mutual says
- Numbrix 9 - April 3
- Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak