Israeli Air Force's F-35 Shoots Down Iranian Jet Over Tehran

An Israeli Air Force F-35 fighter jet shot down a Russian-made Iranian Yak-130 jet over Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday amid an escalating war after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israel airstrikes last week.

It marks the first-ever downing of a manned aircraft by an F-35.

It also marks the first time in nearly 40 years that the Israeli Air Force has engaged in air-to-air combat with a manned aircraft.

🛩️IRANIAN JET SHOT DOWN: An IAF F-35I “Adir” fighter jet shot down an Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter jet.

This is the first shootdown in history of a manned fighter aircraft by an F-35 “Adir” fighter jet.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 4, 2026

Iran has fired regular salvoes of missiles and drones missiles at Israel, though most of the incoming fire has been intercepted. Eleven people in Israel have been killed since the conflict began.

Earlier today, Israel said it was conducting a series of strikes across Tehran targeting Iranian security forces, the day after it hit a building associated with the clerical panel that will pick Iran's next supreme leader in the city of Qom.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings in Tehran associated with the Basij, the all-volunteer force of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted the bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.

Five days into a war that US President Donald Trump suggested could last a month or longer, nearly 800 people have been killed in Iran, including some Trump said he had considered as possible future leaders of the country.