Israeli F35 shoots down Iranian jet
The United States and Israel hit Iran’s capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on Wednesday, the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces as the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel and across the region.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most intense threat yet as the war escalated, saying it was prepared for the “complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”
Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts, and Iranian state television showed the ruins of a building in the centre of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted.
With fighter jets roaring overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies. One man, who ran a clothing shop, said he didn’t know what to do.
The Israeli military said one of its F-35 stealth fighter jets shot down a piloted Iranian Air Force YAK-130 fighter over Tehran on Wednesday. It also said Israeli air defences were activated to intercept Iranian missiles fired at targets around the country, and explosions were heard around Jerusalem.
The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that authorities postponed the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the conflict, according to Iranian state television.
US Embassies and oil in the crosshairs: With Iran’s stranglehold on tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped, Brent crude prices hit USD 84 a barrel, up more than 15 per cent since the start of the conflict and at its highest price since July 2024.
Iran has also attacked regional infrastructure. Saudi Arabia said Wednesday its Ras Tanura oil refinery, one of the world’s largest, was again targeted after an unsuccessful drone attack on it earlier in the week. The kingdom’s oil ministry said the latest attack did not cause any damage and supplies were not affected.
The American Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the US Consulate in the United Arab Emirates came under drone attacks on Tuesday, and the US State Department said on Wednesday it had authorised non-emergency government personnel to evacuate the kingdom.