Air War Escalates: Iran Claims Hit on Israeli Jet, Israel Reports No Damage

Why it matters

Israel confirms missile launch but denies any damage The Israeli military did not directly confirm the loss or damage of an F-16, but acknowledged that one of its aircraft had been targeted during an operation inside Iran.

Key takeaways

• According to AFP, the reports did not identify the type of the second aircraft or whether it belonged to Israel or the United States.
• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Saturday that it had struck an Israeli F-16 fighter jet over central Iran, though the Israeli military said only that one of its aircraft had come under surface-to-air missile fire during operations and insisted there was no damage.The competing claims emerged as the conflict triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 continues to widen across the Middle East.As per news agency AFP, the Guards said on their Sepah News website, “An F-16 hostile enemy fighter jet belonging to the Zionist regime was struck at 3:45 am in central Iran.”
• Iranian media also circulated an image purportedly showing smoke in the sky and claimed that another aircraft had been targeted, though no further details were provided.
• The Israeli military said a surface-to-air missile had been launched at an Israeli aircraft during “an operational activity” in Iran.It added that “no damage was caused to the aircraft,” according to AFP.At this stage, it remains unclear whether the Israeli statement and the IRGC’s claim refer to the same incident, as Israel did not specify the type of aircraft involved.