TEHRAN - In a post on X, CENTCOM announced that three American F-15 fighter jets were downed in Kuwait on Monday, hours after Iranian Armed Forces declared their defense units had struck the warplanes before they could enter Iranian airspace.

CENTCOM, however, claimed the jets were downed in "apparent friendly fire." 

Footage circulating on social media shows at least two warplanes collapsing after catching fire. Pictures show two pilots encountered by locals on Kuwaiti soil after ejecting.

The fact that these aircraft were shot down in Kuwait shows that the Persian Gulf state has permitted Washington to launch attacks against Iran, contradicting previous commitments by regional powers not to allow their territory to be used against Tehran.

Iran's downing of the three warplanes marks the most significant loss of crewed American fighter aircraft since the U.S. F-117 was shot down by Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War 27 years ago. Due to significant advancements in aircraft technology over the intervening decades, no official downing of a crewed American fighter had been reported until now.

Iranian air defence systems appear to be operating far more effectively than during the 12-day war in June. They have already downed 17 Israeli Hermes drones and three U.S. MQ-9 drones in the first three days of the conflict.