US Officials Reject Claims of Jet Shot Down in Basra

RunWithRugs · 2026-03-09T02:55:36+00:00

US defense officials have dismissed false claims on social media about an American fighter jet being downed in Basra, Iraq, labeling them as Iranian disinformation. CENTCOM stated the reports are baseless, and military operations continue as planned.

RunWithRugs

2026-03-09 02:55:36

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(MENAFN) US defense authorities have refuted circulating reports on social media suggesting that an American fighter jet was downed over Basra, Iraq.

“These reports are false,” a Pentagon official told a news agency.

Earlier accounts claimed that the Basra Police Command was searching for a US pilot after a fighter jet allegedly crashed within the province, reportedly intercepted by Iranian air defenses.

Subsequently, US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on X that such reports are “baseless and not true.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also dismissed the allegations during a press briefing, characterizing them as Iranian disinformation.

“As CENTCOM pointed out, those reports of an F-15 being shot down are false,” he said. “Iran is doing everything it can to peddle lies, deception and inflation of numbers and reality, mostly to propagandize to their own people.”

Hegseth further emphasized that US military operations continue to pursue their planned objectives.

“One of the objectives the president has always said is that Iran will not have nuclear bomb capabilities,” he said, adding that details about potential operational targets will not be shared.

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