Iran claimed Monday it shot down a F-15 fighter jet as the war with US-backed Israel entered a third day, dragging the West Asia region and the world into a second major military conflict.
Visuals shared online showed an F-15 – it was not immediately clear if the plane belonged to the United States or Israel, since the latter also operates the twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft – spiralling downwards in slow motion, with flames visible from its rear.
Multiple media reports said the pilot ejected safely.
US-Israel missile strikes Saturday – targeting regime installations in Tehran and Iranian military bases – resulted in a free-for-all in West Asia after the Iranian side responded with a barrage of missiles and armed drone attacks at Tel Aviv and American military bases across the region.
#BREAKING | US fighter jet crashes in Kuwait: Iran’s big claim
NDTV World’s @VishalV054 joins @GaurieD with more details#IsraelIranConflict pic.twitter.com/t99lR9AJrP
— NDTV (@ndtv) March 2, 2026
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on Day 1 after missiles struck a compound in central Tehran. Khamenei’s death was the result of ‘months of intelligence planning’, Donald Trump said on Truth Social, and called him “one of the most evil people…”
The scale and intensity of each side’s attacks have escalated over the past 72 hours, prompting widespread disruption to civilian populations in all affected countries.
This includes the airport in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates – which is one of the busiest in the world and a key hub for Asia-Europe flights – being shut down for several hours. And a luxury hotel in the city was among civilian buildings hit by an Iranian missile, while Tehran claimed a US-Israel missile hit a school in the town of Minab, killing over 150 people, including children.
So far over 200 casualties have been confirmed, though human rights organisations monitoring the war and working in the area warn the actual toll could be much higher.