- By Aditya Jha
- Fri, 03 Apr 2026 07:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Iran War 2026: Amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Iranian local media has claimed that a US pilot might be in the custody of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after a fighter jet was reportedly shot down over central Iran on Friday. As per the Tasnim News Agency, the pilot ejected after the aircraft was hit by the Iranian defence system and landed successfully. While the US authorities have not addressed the issue yet, the IRGC earlier alleged that the pilot could have not survived due to the scale of the explosion.
As per the reports, the US forces tried to extract the pilot; however, the local media claimed that the pilot was captured by the Iranian forces, reported Turkey Today. The investigation also revealed that the US was using Black Hawk helicopters, a Hercules 130, and reconnaissance drones to track the pilot, reported Tasnim. However, these claims could not be independently verified by The Daily Jagran.
Earlier in its statement, the IRGC claimed that it shot down another US F-35 fighter jet allegedly by using a new advanced air defense system. In a separate statement, Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Spokesman said that the pilot was unlikely to survive due to the massive explosion during the crash.
"A second US fifth-generation F-35 was struck and downed over central Iran by a new IRGC Aerospace Force air-defence system. Given the massive explosion on impact and during the crash, the pilot is unlikely to have ejected," the spokesman was quoted as saying by Press TV.
"Any attack on Iran’s bridges, power plants, or energy infrastructure will prompt strikes not only on all US and Israeli assets in the region and occupied territories but also on key holdings of US allies and host nations – harder and more devastating than before," the spokesperson added.