‘Fake, baseless’: Israel denies Iran’s claim of downing two F-35 jets, capturing woman pilot

Following reports from some Iranian media that Tehran shot down two Israeli jets and a pilot has been captured, Israel's military has said that it's not true.

Avichay Adraee, a spokesman in Arabic for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), says: “Fake Iranian media. This news being spread by Iranian media is completely baseless.”

Iran has claimed that it shot down two Israeli fighter jets during the ongoing military conflict between the two countries. The jets were reportedly brought down by Iran’s air defences on Friday, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.

One of the pilots, said to be a woman, has been captured, the report added.

This claim was also shared by the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of Iran’s embassy in New Delhi, India. The post stated, “Iran’s air defense forces have shot down two Israeli F-35 fighter jets and intercepted several hostile drones.”

Iran fires drones and missiles at Israel

Iran had earlier launched more than 100 drones towards Israeli targets. Most of these were intercepted by Israel’s air defence systems. However, a second wave of missile attacks followed, with some missiles managing to hit Israeli cities.

According to reports, around 40 people were taken to hospitals in Israel, with two of them in critical condition.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Avichay Adraee confirmed the strikes. He said in a post on X that most of the missiles were intercepted or did not reach their targets.

“There are a limited number of buildings that were hit, some due to shrapnel from interception operations,” he added.

Israel warns Iran will pay a price

Reacting to the Iranian attacks, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tehran had “crossed red lines by launching missiles towards Israeli civilian areas.” He warned, “Tehran will pay a heavy price.”

Israeli airstrikes on Iran triggered the conflict

The recent exchange of fire began after Israel launched a major airstrike on 13 June, targeting Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure. The strike killed four senior Iranian officers, including Major General Mohammad Bagheri and Major General Hossein Salami.

Iranian media reported that six nuclear scientists and 78 civilians, including women and children, also lost their lives. Dozens more were injured in the attacks.