The Tehran Jet Chase
Two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms were sent to intercept a brilliant object over Tehran. Both reported instrument and communication failures as they closed on it, and one pilot said a smaller object was launched toward him. A US Defense Intelligence Agency report called the case outstanding.
- Date
- 19 September 1976
- Place
- Tehran, Iran
- Witnesses
- Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 crews, including Lieutenant Parviz Jafari; ground controllers
- Status
- Disputed
What happened
Shortly after midnight, citizens of Tehran telephoned the air force about a bright object in the sky. An F-4 was scrambled at 1:30 a.m.; as it approached to within some miles of the object, the crew reported losing instruments and communications, which returned when they turned away. A second F-4, flown by Lieutenant Parviz Jafari, gained a radar return the size of a large aircraft. As he closed, a smaller bright object detached from the first and came toward him. He tried to fire a missile; his weapons panel and radio failed. He evaded, the smaller object returned to the first, and another object descended toward the ground and appeared to land, casting light over the area.
The object
Pilots described an object of intense, rapidly changing colour, so bright that its shape was hard to judge, and a smaller detached light. No structure or occupants were seen.
Aftermath
A US Air Force attaché's report went to the Defense Intelligence Agency, whose evaluation form rated the case as 'a classic which meets all the criteria necessary for a valid study of the UFO phenomenon'. The document was released under the Freedom of Information Act in 1977 and is one of the most cited official records in the field. Jafari, later a general, has told the story publicly for decades.
Explanations
Sceptics, notably Philip Klass, argued that the bright object was Jupiter, that the instrument failures reflected known faults in the ageing F-4 fleet, and that the pilots' accounts grew in the telling. Supporters point to the multiple radar and visual confirmations and the DIA's own assessment. The case is disputed.
Sources
- 1976 Tehran UFO incident
- Leslie Kean, UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record (2010) Find on Amazon
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