Iran’s Araghchi: Real Toll of US Aircraft Downed by Iran Far Higher than Reported

By Staff, Agencies 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that the real number of American military aircraft downed by Iran is “far higher” than reported by the US.

Araghchi made the remark in a post on his X account, citing figures from the US Congressional Research Service as he questioned Washington’s account of losses at its military bases.

He said the Congressional Research Service had acknowledged in May that Iran’s armed forces had downed 42 American military aircraft.

However, the figure has now increased to 81, he added.

“Real toll is far higher,” he wrote.

As evidence of a cover-up, the top Iranian diplomat pointed to CENTCOM’s refusal to allow a sitting US senator to inspect bases that it claims are undamaged, without providing further details.

“You can fool all the people some of the time...,” Araghchi added, referring to a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln: "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

A Congressional Research Service [CRS] report on Monday says the United States has lost or sustained damage to at least 81 military aircraft and drones during Trump’s war on Iran, with the total replacement cost estimated at $1.9 billion to $3.3 billion.

The tally covers manned aircraft, helicopters and unmanned systems and includes combat losses, alleged accidents and aircraft damaged or destroyed on the ground.
MQ-9 Reaper drones account for more than half the total. The list also includes high-value platforms such as an F-35A fighter jet and an E-3 Sentry, as well as up to 12 F-15E Strike Eagles, seven KC-135 tankers and seven helicopters.

Meanwhile, CNN has put the total cost of the war at more than $45 billion, noting that the “figure doesn’t include damage to infrastructure at US bases in the region, including those where some of the aircraft losses happened.”

This came as in recent months the Pentagon has been facing accusations of underreporting casualties among American forces in West Asia.