The U.S military indicated on Thursday that an Air Force KC-135 military refueling aircraft was lost while flying over Iraq during an incident which was “not due to hostile or enemy fire.”
The U.S Central Command released a statement that there were two aircraft involved in the incident, and the aircraft were flying in friendly airspace. It added that one of the aircraft crashed in the western part of Iraq and the other landed safely.
“The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing,” the U.S. Central Command said, citing the war against Iran, which led to retaliatory strikes by Tehran across the Middle East.
It was unclear how many U.S. service members were on board the KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed. In a statement published on its Telegram channel, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a militia group in the country supported by Iran, accepted responsibility for the downing of the U.S. aircraft.
However, this is the fourth indicated that the aircraft loss since the Iran war began, after three F-15 fighters were shot down by friendly fire from Kuwait’s air defenses.
The KC-135, which cost $39.6 million in 1998, as per the U.S. Air Force, is normally used to refuel other aircraft in mid-air.
The loss of aircraft is accompanied by the words of the Iranian Security Chief, Ali Larijani, that Tehran would ensure that the U.S. will be “sorry” for starting the war in Iran.
Larijani said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on early Friday, “Trump says he is looking for a speedy victory. While starting a war is easy, it cannot be won with a few tweets.”
His statement came after the remarks by Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, that the Strait of Hormuz maritime passage should remain closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy.”
In televised comments translated by Reuters, Khamenei stated that all U.S. military bases in the Middle East should close immediately and warned that “those bases will be attacked.”
Although U. S. President Donald Trump said that “we won” in Iran and that the war will end “very soon,” more foreign ships were struck in the Persian Gulf on Thursday.
Reuters reported that a spokesperson for Iran’s military command, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, said on Wednesday that Iran also warned that oil prices might reach up to $200 a barrel, accusing the U.S. of destabilizing regional security.
