As Iran Claims Downing of Israeli F‑35s, Israel Dismisses Allegations

Iran has reportedly destroyed two Israeli F-35 Lightning II aircraft, which are made by Lockheed Martin, as well as many micro aerial vehicles. Also, Iranian forces have allegedly taken a female Israeli pilot captive.

Though the Iranian military has not yet confirmed it officially, China's news agency Xinhua mentioned that they got the report from the semi-official news agency Tasnim.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), however, have dismissed the allegations. Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic-language spokesperson, issued a statement calling the report “completely baseless.”

These developments unfold amid escalating hostilities, following a series of large-scale Israeli attacks on Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure, stoking concerns of a wider conflict in the region.

Iran's Press TV reported that its air defense systems had shot down an Israeli drone close to the Fordow nuclear facility, situated near the city of Qom in central Iran.

Earlier on Friday morning, Israel launched airstrikes against Tehran and several other cities in Iran.

The Israeli attacks killed a minimum of 78 and injured 320 others, the majority of them civilians, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said.

Top Iranian military commanders were among those said to have been killed in the attacks on Tehran. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff; Hossein Salami, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Chief Commander; Gholam-Ali Rashid, head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters; and Amir Ali Hajizadeh, IRGC Aerospace Division Commander, are on the list.

Later in the day, Israel said Iran had hit back by firing approximately 100 missiles in two waves at central and northern regions of the country. The attacks inflicted wide-scale damage and injured 41 individuals, including two whose condition is described as critical.