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  "path": "/partner/iran-downs-two-advanced-us-jets",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-03T09:22:27.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "tags": [
    "pic.twitter.com/akrsz1m8Mm",
    "April 3, 2026",
    "https://t.co/mLGcUTS2ei",
    "pic.twitter.com/Y7LKBoCnsR",
    "@PressTV"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nIranian forces said Friday they had shot down two advanced US fighter jets, including a second F-35, in a development that challenges US claims of having crippled Iran’s air defense systems.\n\nIn a statement carried by state media, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its newly deployed air defense systems downed a stealth F-35 in central Iran. The aircraft, reportedly linked to a US squadron based at RAF Lakenheath in Britain, was completely destroyed, it said, adding that the pilot’s fate remained unknown due to the severity of the crash.\n\nEarlier, the IRGC said another advanced fighter jet had been targeted south of Qeshm Island, crashing into waters between Hengam and Qeshm islands in the Gulf.\n\nThe claims appeared to counter recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who has said Washington had largely neutralized Iran’s air defenses during the conflict.\n\n> Spokesman of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters:\n>\n> 🔺 A second US fifth-generation F-35 was struck & downed over central Iran by a new IRGC Aerospace Force air-defense system.\n>\n> 🔺 Given the massive explosion on impact and during the crash, the pilot is unlikely to have ejected. pic.twitter.com/akrsz1m8Mm\n> — Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) April 3, 2026\n\nThe reported downings came as hostilities between Iran, the United States and Israel intensified. Israel said Friday it was under attack from a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles, while Trump warned that US forces had yet to begin “destroying what’s left” of Iran, signaling further strikes on infrastructure.\n\nThe war, now more than a month old, began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran and has since spread across the Middle East, disrupting energy markets and heightening global economic risks.\n\nThe Strait of Hormuz — through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes — has come under particular strain after Iran effectively closed the waterway, prompting international calls to safeguard shipping routes.\n\n\n\n\n> More photos from the downed US F-35 fighter jet in central Iran\n>\n> Follow: https://t.co/mLGcUTS2ei pic.twitter.com/Y7LKBoCnsR\n> — Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) April 3, 2026\n\n\n\n\nTrump has threatened to escalate military action if Tehran does not agree to a negotiated settlement, while Iran has vowed “crushing” retaliation against US and Israeli targets.\n\nIsrael’s military said its air defenses were intercepting incoming missiles on Friday, with no immediate reports of casualties. However, emergency services reported damage to homes and vehicles, while military radio said a train station in Tel Aviv was hit by shrapnel.\n\nThe escalation follows Trump’s warning on social media that US strikes could expand to include bridges and power plants, hours after he claimed Iran’s tallest bridge had been destroyed. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded that attacks on civilian infrastructure would not force the country to capitulate.\n\nStrikes by both sides have increasingly targeted economic and industrial facilities, raising concerns about wider disruption to global energy supplies.\n\n### New Gulf attacks\n\nThe conflict has also spread to Gulf states, long considered relatively insulated from direct hostilities. Iran has accused regional countries of facilitating US operations, a claim they deny.\n\nIn Kuwait, a drone strike on a refinery operated by the national oil company sparked fires in several units, state media reported, as air defenses responded to incoming threats.\n\nIran said its earlier strikes had targeted sites in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel, including what it described as US-linked industrial facilities and Israeli defense infrastructure.\n\nDespite the ongoing bombardment, daily life continued in parts of Iran. Families gathered in Tehran’s Melat Park to mark the 13th day after Nowruz, the Persian New Year, even as security checkpoints increased across the city.\n\n“They gather in the streets in order to show people that they are still in power and nothing is going to change,” said a 30-year-old resident, speaking on condition of anonymity.\n\nIn Israel, Passover celebrations continued under the shadow of the conflict, with some families observing the holiday in underground shelters. “This is not my first choice,” said a writer named Jeffrey from a bunker in Tel Aviv.\n\n### Global impact\n\nThe war’s economic shockwaves are being felt far beyond the region.\n\nOil prices surged to around $110 a barrel on Thursday after Trump warned of further escalation, underscoring fears of prolonged disruption to global energy supplies.\n\nAnalysts said the US administration has yet to signal a clear exit strategy, with Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid noting there was “no signal of the US seeking an imminent off-ramp.”\n\nThe World Bank has warned of rising risks to inflation, employment and food security worldwide. Countries are already responding: airlines in China are increasing fuel surcharges, Malaysia has asked civil servants to work from home, and Pakistan has sharply raised fuel prices.\n\nEven distant economies are feeling the strain. Fuel shortages have led to long queues in Bhutan’s capital Thimphu, while Egypt has ordered early closures of shops and malls to curb surging energy costs.\n\n“We are helpless,” said resident Karma Kalden in Bhutan.\n\nTrump has suggested Iran’s leadership could still prove “more reasonable” in potential negotiations, though Tehran has dismissed US proposals as “maximalist and irrational.”\n\n### UN vote delayed\n\nDiplomatic efforts have intensified around the Strait of Hormuz, which remains largely blocked, disrupting global flows of oil, liquefied natural gas and fertilizers.\n\nBritish Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper convened around 40 countries to demand the waterway’s “immediate and unconditional” reopening, warning that Iran must not be allowed to “hold the global economy hostage.”\n\nItaly has called for a humanitarian corridor to ensure supplies of fertilizer and other essentials, particularly to prevent food shortages in Africa.\n\nThe UN Security Council had been due to vote on Friday on a Bahrain-backed resolution to authorize defensive measures to protect shipping, but the vote was postponed. Diplomatic sources said the delay was due to the observance of Good Friday as a UN holiday, despite the date being known in advance.\n\nNo new date has been set for the vote.",
  "title": "Iran says it downs two advanced US jets amid widening war"
}