A US Air Pressure Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker aerial-refuelling plane flies over Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026.
Jack Guez | Afp | Getty Photos
The U.S. army stated Thursday {that a} KC-135 army refueling aircraft was misplaced whereas flying over Iraq in an incident that was “not attributable to hostile or enemy hearth.”
The U.S. Central Command stated in an announcement that the incident concerned two plane and occurred in pleasant airspace. One of many plane went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely, it added.
“The incident occurred in pleasant airspace throughout Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing, the the U.S. Central Command stated, referring to the struggle towards Iran, which led to retaliatory strikes by Tehran throughout the Center East.
It was unclear what number of U.S. service members have been on board the KC-135 refueling plane that crashed.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a gaggle of militias within the nation backed by Iran, claimed accountability for the downing of the U.S. plane in an announcement posted on its Telegram channel.
That is the fourth reported plane loss because the Iran struggle began, after three F-15 fighters have been shot down by pleasant hearth from Kuwait’s air defenses.
The KC-135, which value $39.6 million in 1998 in line with the U.S. Air Pressure, is often used to refuel different plane in mid-air.
U.S. will probably be ‘sorry’
The plane loss comes as Iran’s safety chief, Ali Larijani, stated Tehran would make the U.S. “sorry” for beginning the struggle in Iran.
“Trump says he’s searching for a speedy victory. Whereas beginning a struggle is simple, it can’t be received with a number of tweets,” Larijani stated in a publish on X early Friday.
His assertion adopted remarks by Iran’s new supreme chief, Mojtaba Khamenei, that the Strait of Hormuz maritime passage ought to stay closed as a “instrument to stress the enemy.”
Khamenei additionally stated all U.S. army bases within the Center East ought to shut instantly and warned that “these bases will probably be attacked,” in televised feedback translated by Reuters.
Regardless of U.S. President Donald Trump claiming that “we received” in Iran and that the struggle will finish “very quickly,” extra overseas ships have been struck within the Persian Gulf on Thursday.
Iran additionally warned that oil costs may climb to $200 a barrel, accusing the U.S. of destabilising regional safety, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s army command, stated Wednesday, in line with Reuters.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.
