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The 1976 Tehran, Iran UFO Incident

Summary:

One of the most unusual events in modern history is the pursuit of a UFO by a military jet. But can a dogfight between them be possible? Of course, you cannot compare a terrestrial aircraft with a super advance spacecraft, which came to Earth from another solar system. A similar incident occurred over Tehran, Iran when an American made F-4 Phantom II jet, piloted by Parviz Jafari, attempted a dogfight with a UFO. However, its weapon systems were deactivated and unable to fire, which left the pilot at the mercy of the UFO. This incident reminds me of the 1967 incident which occurred at a nuclear missiles Launch Control Center at the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana (USA), when a UFO rendered 10 nuclear Minuteman missiles "unlaunchable" while it hovered overhead.

Iran before the Islamic Revolution:

Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution (during the reign of the shah), Iran was one of America’s staunchest allies in the Middle East. Its long border with America’s Cold War rival, the Soviet Union, and its position as the largest, most powerful country in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, made Iran a "pillar" of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War in the Middle East. To help contain Soviet expansion of the Persian Gulf region, the U.S. provided training and supplied Iran with the most advanced aircraft of the era, like the F-4 Phantom II, F-14 Tomcats jets and F-5 Tiger II.

At the time, the Imperial Iranian Air Force maintained an intensive surveillance on its border with the Soviet Union and scrambled its jets to intercept anything unusual flying overhead.

Civilians report unusual lights in the sky:

On September 18, 1976, at about 11:00 pm (2300 hrs.), the Imperial Iranian Air Force command post at Tehran received the first telephone reports, from frightened civilians in the Shemiran city district, of a large lighted orb circling above them in the night sky. Other callers reported seeing a "bird-like object"; others identified it as being a helicopter with a bright light.

An F-4 jet scrambled:

On September 19, 1976, at about 12:30 am (0030 hrs.), as civilian reports kept coming in and since the command post found neither helicopters nor planes airborne at the time that could explain the strange reports, they called General Yousefi, Assistant Deputy Commander of Operations. General Yousefi at first thought the object was only a star, but when he conferred with the control tower at Mehrabad International Airport and noticed that the object was much brighter and larger than a star, he decided to scramble an F-4 Phantom II jet fighter in the belief that it could be a Soviet incursion over Iran.

At approximately 1:30 am (0130 hrs.), the same night, the F-4 Phantom II jet left from Shahrokhi Air Force Base in Hamadan, located about 175 miles (282 km) west of Tehran to intercept the unidentified aircraft. The pilot, Captain Mohammad Reza Azizkhani, proceeded to a point of 40 nautical miles (74 km) north of the city, to get a closer look at the unusual object. It was noted that the object was of such brilliance that it could be seen from 70 miles (110 km) away.

When the aircraft approached to approximately 25 nautical miles (46 km) from the object, the F-4 jet suddenly lost all instrumentation and communications capabilities, causing him to break off the intended intercept and to turn back toward Shahrohki Air Force Base. When the F-4 was on its way back toward the air base, the aircraft regained all its instrumentations and communications.

A second F-4 scrambled:

At approximately 1:40 am (0140 hrs.), a second F-4 was scrambled to identify the object, piloted by Major Parviz Jafari. When he acquired a radar lock on the object at 27 nautical miles (50 km) range, the radar signature of the UFO resembled that of a Boeing 707 aircraft. Closing in on the object at 150 nautical miles (280 km) per hour and at a range of 25 nautical miles (46 km), the object began to move, keeping a steady distance of 25 nautical miles (46 km) in front of the F-4.

The size of the object was difficult to determine due to its intense brilliance. The lights of the object were alternating blue, green, red, and orange, and were arranged in a square pattern. He really couldn’t see its shape well because it was so bright and was flashing multiple colors in sequence at a high rate of speed blending the colors together. Later he identified it as being a very bright diamond shaped object.

An orb emerges from the mothership:

While the diamond shaped object and the F-4 continued on a southerly path, a second smaller orb-like object descended from beneath the UFO and advanced toward the F-4 at a high rate of speed. Although Jafari was traveling at supersonic speed, the incoming orb streaked by his F-4 jet and circled it, as if it were standing still. The orb-like object suddenly returned to the larger UFO, which was still keeping a steady distance of about 25 nautical miles in front of his aircraft.

Another orb appears:

For a moment, Jafari thought he was out of danger, but to his astonishment, another orb had descended from beneath the UFO and was streaking directly toward his jet for the second time. Jafari now believing he was under attack, he reached for his instrument panel to arm and fire an AIM-9 sidewinder heat-seeking missile, but what happened next shocked him. He suddenly lost all instrumentations, including weapons control, and all communications.

The left side of the instrument panel (the weapons panel) was deactivated, disarmed and all instrumentation lights were turned off. Jafari believes that in the heat of battle with the UFO, it sent a massive volt of electro-magnetic energy toward his plane temporarily disabling the onboard electronics, including the navigation equipment, avionics and weapons systems.

With a disabled missile system and no way to defend against this unknown object, Jafari considered ditching his plane. He attempted to eject, but to no avail, as this system also malfunctioned. Jafari then instituted a turn and a negative G dive as evasive action. The object fell in behind him at about 3 to 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) distance for a short time, then suddenly the object reversed direction and once again returned to the larger UFO.

The F-4 returns to base:

Having just endured a harrowing engagement with multiple UFOs over the dark skies north of Tehran, Major Jafari decided it was no longer safe to continue tracking this mysterious object. He’d been granted permission to return to Tehran. As he returned to base, all instrumentations, including weapons control and all communications began to function normally.

Then he realized something unexpected was about to unfold. As he descended for his approach to Mehrabad Airport, he saw another small object chasing his jet from behind. On his final approach, he looked over his shoulder and observed the object descending toward the desert floor, lighting up the sandy field so bright as if it were daylight.

Jafari ordered to identify the landed object:

Jafari was diverted from landing and was ordered to identify the object, which appeared to touch down near the airbase. According to military and civilian eyewitnesses, the object was believed to have crash landed just outside Shemiran. However, instead of seeing a big explosion, the brighten object just got to the desert floor and landed gently. Major Jafari then overflew the site at low altitude and marked the position of the light's touchdown. Jafari would later comment that the object was so bright that it lit up the ground and he could see rocks around it. The object had touched down nearby Rey Oil Refinery on the outskirts of Tehran.

Involvement of American CIA agents:

Upon landing at Mehrabad Airport, Parviz Jafari knew that soon he had to report to his commanders about the night’s events. What he didn’t realize was that high ranking Iranian officials weren’t the only ones interested in his encounter. Upon landing, there were American CIA agents and an air force colonel waiting for him to debrief him. The news of the encounter was heard all the way in the White House.

Investigation of the reported landing site:

The next day, helicopters took investigators to the site where they had seen the smaller object land. In the daylight, it was determined to be a dry lakebed, but no traces could be seen. They then circled the area to the west and picked up a noticeable "beeping" signal. The signal was loudest near a small house, so they landed and questioned the occupants of the house about any unusual events of the previous night. They reported a loud noise and a bright light like lightning.

A thorough investigation of the landing site, including radiation testing of the area was apparently done, but the results were never made public. Since this event occurred before the fall of the Shah, any records in Tehran itself may be lost or still be classified by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The CIA agents filed a report, which was later declassified, that was distributed to the CIA, the Air Force, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense and the White House.

Conclusion:

There is ample evidence and documentation to state categorically that residents of Tehran and the military (including the two F-4 pilots) did witness an unknown flying object in the night sky. The UFOs and the F-4, made radar return on the Imperial Iranian Air Force command post radars, and by ground visual observation. Civilians and the military also witnessed the object that had apparently landed just outside Shemiran, which lit the whole area up like daylight. The incident got the attention of the U.S. government, which at the time was a friend of Iran. This encounter may have more information that we don’t know about the incident, since Iran is now a country, which doesn’t have diplomatic relations with most western nations.