Iran downs 2 Israeli fighter jets, detains pilot
Police officers patrol the streets following an Iranian missile attack, June 13, 2025. (Reuters Photo)
Jun 13, 2025
By Nurbanu Tanrıkulu Kızıl
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-ea ... ains-pilot
Iranian state media reported Friday that Iranian forces shot down two Israeli fighter jets amid a large-scale Israeli airstrike.
"At least two Israeli fighter jets were shot down in Iranian skies," the official IRNA news agency reported, without elaborating.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Friday it launched a large-scale retaliatory operation against Israeli military targets under the name True Promise 3, following deadly Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.
In a statement published by the IRGC, the elite force said dozens of Israeli military sites, including bases and airports in occupied territories, were targeted. The operation came in response to what the statement described as a "terrorist, oppressive and child-killing" attack by Israel on Iranian soil, which killed senior commanders, prominent scientists and children.
"This morning, in retaliation for the Zionist regime’s attack that martyred high-ranking officers, elite scientists, and innocent children, the IRGC initiated the True Promise 3 operation," the statement read.
The Guard said details of the operation would be shared with the public later.
Tensions have escalated sharply between Iran and Israel following Tel Aviv’s April 19 airstrikes on nuclear and military sites in Iran, a move condemned by several countries in the region.
The latest development comes amid rising fears of broader regional conflict, as international calls grow for restraint and de-escalation.
Key aboveground section of Natanz enrichment plant 'destroyed': IAEA
Iran has reported that a key aboveground component of its uranium enrichment facility in Natanz was destroyed, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday.
"At Natanz, the aboveground part of the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235, has been destroyed," IAEA nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the U.N. Security Council.