Iran’s Qalibaf: US Fighter Jets Are Now the Prey

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said a new era has begun in which US warplanes can be hunted, pursued and damaged, citing documented losses of American aircraft.

In a post on X accompanied by a table detailing US aircraft losses and damage, Qalibaf said: “The era has indeed begun in which your F-35 and F-15 aircraft are hunted, and you are asked to report any damage sustained.”

Addressing the leaders of Iran’s adversaries, he added: “What was previously a terrifying nightmare has now become a daily reality... accept it.”

Meanwhile, the data shared by Qalibaf lists damage to US F-35 and F-15 fighters, along with losses involving refueling aircraft, helicopters and drones.

Earlier, CBS News reported that eight F-15 aircraft were damaged during Iranian strikes on a US air base in Jordan, while an A-10 Thunderbolt was struck and lost one of its wings.

US forces reportedly fired more than 30 Patriot missiles to intercept the incoming missiles.

The reported damage came after US attacks on Iranian oil tankers, which prompted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRG] to announce retaliatory strikes against US-linked targets.

The IRG said its Aerospace Force struck the al-Azraq base in an operation code-named “Ya Haidar Karrar,” using solid- and liquid-fueled ballistic missiles against maintenance and preparation hangars and shelters housing F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighter jets.

The IRG said the operation was carried out in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian oil tankers.

Separately, former US Navy officer John Cordle told Military Times that the destruction of a US naval support base in Manama by Iranian missiles was equivalent to losing an aircraft carrier.