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Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims it shot down a US F-18 fighter jet over southern Iran, marking what Tehran describes as its fourth interception of Western military aircraft using domestically built defense systems. Washington has not responded to the claim.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps announced through the country's state broadcaster that its air defense systems struck a US F-18 fighter jet in the Chabahar region of southern Iran, causing the aircraft to crash into the Indian Ocean.
The IRGC described the incident as "the fourth successful interception of strategic fighter jets belonging to the hostile US and Zionist military by Iran's fully indigenous, modern air defense systems," according to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
The IRGC said the aircraft was brought down by what it called an "advanced air defense system" operated by the IRGC Navy under the command of the Basij, the paramilitary volunteer force that operates as a branch of the Revolutionary Guard.
The use of a naval air defense asset in the strike suggests the engagement may have occurred near Iran's southeastern coastline, where Chabahar sits along the Gulf of Oman, close to the country's border with Pakistan.
As of the time of the announcement, the United States had offered no comment on the claimed shootdown. Washington has not confirmed the loss of any aircraft in the region.
The F-18, formally designated the F/A-18 Hornet or Super Hornet, is a carrier-capable multirole combat jet widely deployed by the US Navy and Marine Corps, frequently operating from carrier strike groups in the Arabian Sea and broader Indian Ocean region.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has directly denied Iran's claim, labeling it "false" in a post on social media platform X.
"No U.S. fighter aircraft have been shot down by Iran," CENTCOM stated, responding specifically to the IRGC's announcement that an F/A-18 had been struck over Chabahar.
The rebuttal, which included a fact-check graphic stamped "FALSE" over Iranian state media coverage of the claim, came just minutes after the IRGC's announcement circulated online through Press TV and other Iranian outlets.
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