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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed Friday that it shot down a second U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jet over central Iran using a new air defense system.
The Pentagon has not confirmed the claim, and independent analysts said the debris could not be definitively identified.
The IRGC's central command headquarters said the aircraft "was hit by the new air defense system of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' aerospace force" and crashed in central Iran. "Due to the severe explosion of the fighter jet upon impact and crash, it is unlikely that the pilot has escaped," the IRGC said.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency published multiple sets of images it said showed the wreckage.
The IRGC said the "LN" tail code on the wreckage identified the aircraft as belonging to the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Britain, home to the 493rd Fighter Squadron.
Tasnim described the shoot-down as "the first response of our armed forces to the ramblings of the head of the terrorist American government," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to escalate strikes on Iranian infrastructure.
The markings on the debris align with those of aircraft from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at Lakenheath. However, open-source analysts noted that the paint scheme on the wreckage does not appear consistent with what would be expected for an F-35A.
Some analysts suggested the debris could instead belong to an F-15E Strike Eagle, as the red coloring visible on the wreckage aligns with markings on F-15s from the same squadron.
The size of the debris relative to the surrounding terrain made definitive identification difficult.
The IRGC said this was the second fifth-generation fighter jet it had downed within 12 hours. No details were provided about the first claimed shoot-down.
The Pentagon has not made any statement regarding the IRGC's claim.
Iran has previously claimed to have destroyed high-value U.S. military assets during the conflict, including an AWACS surveillance aircraft that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said was brought down by "a cheap Iranian drone."
The U.S. and Israel have maintained an air offensive on Iran since Feb. 28, killing more than 1,340 people, according to Iranian authorities. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
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