Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, on Friday ridiculed the United States following reports that an American fighter jet went down in southwestern Iran.
Posting on X, Ghalibaf sarcastically wrote, “After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’” He added, “Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses.”
The United States earlier confirmed the loss of an F-15E fighter jet over Iran. The incident comes just days after the Pentagon claimed Iranian air defenses had been significantly weakened, allowing US aircraft to operate freely over the country. This followed President Donald Trump’s warning to bomb Iran “to the stone age.”
The fate of the two crew members remains unknown. US teams have reportedly launched a search and rescue operation, racing against time amid concerns Iran could locate any survivors first. Iranian media also claimed a US rescue helicopter was shot down, while Tehran announced a $60,000 reward for information leading to the pilots.
This is the first confirmed loss of a manned US jet in the current conflict, though other incidents have been reported. These include a March 2 friendly fire episode involving Kuwaiti air defenses, bringing F-15E losses to four. The US has also lost an E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft on March 27, along with more than a dozen MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Iran has further claimed it shot down an F-35 fighter jet, though Washington has not confirmed this.
The conflict, which began on February 28, has led to rising casualties across multiple countries and increased global concern, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, where tensions have pushed oil prices higher.
Iran has also been accused of targeting critical infrastructure across the Gulf, including a desalination plant in Kuwait and key energy installations. Air defenses were activated in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, while Israel reported incoming missile alerts.
