Every war the Iranian air force has fought
The air-to-air claims of the Iran–Iraq war have never been reconciled: Iran claims at least 160 Iraqi aircraft for its F-14s alone, according to Tom Cooper and Farzad Bishop, who confirm a smaller number, and Iraq disputes many of the claims. The shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 in 1988 is given with both the US account and Iran’s. In the wars of 2025 and 2026 every aircraft loss figure is a claim by Israel, the United States or Qatar; Iran has published none in the sources consulted. Wikipedia dates a ceasefire to 8 April 2026 and a US-Iranian memorandum to 17 June 2026, and sources differ on whether and how far fighting resumed afterwards. Where a consolidated sortie or loss figure exists in the official record it is given here; where accounts disagree, the range is shown and the disagreement named. Blank cells are blank because no figure could be verified, not because the fighting was small.
From the Anglo-Soviet invasion of 1941 to the 2026 Iran war.
| Conflict | Years | Against | Main aircraft | Sorties | Aircraft lost | |
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| The Anglo-Soviet invasion of IranOperation CountenanceImperial Iranian Air Force | 1941 | United Kingdom and Soviet Union | Hawker Fury, Hawker Hart, Bréguet 19 | — | 7 | |
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Reconnaissance and limited air combat against the RAF and the Soviet air force. The invasion began on 25 August 1941. The Iranian air force flew what Wikipedia calls a motley collection of outdated biplanes — British Furies and Harts, French Bréguets, Potez and Blériot-SPADs, and Soviet-built copies of First World War de Havilland designs. An Iranian reconnaissance aircraft spotted Soviet columns near Marand, and Iranian pilots fought RAF aircraft over central Iran, losing six fighters. British and Soviet bombers attacked Iranian airfields and cities with complete control of the air. Resistance ended within days. Outcome Iran was occupied; Reza Shah abdicated in September 1941. Iranian aircraft numbers in 1941 and the names of aircrew killed were not confirmed.
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| The Dhofar rebellionIranian intervention in OmanImperial Iranian Air Force and Imperial Iranian Army aviation | 1973–1976 | Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman | F-4 Phantom II, Helicopters | — | 1 | |
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Supported the Imperial Iranian Task Force fighting for the Sultan of Oman, with helicopters for supply and fighter support. Iran sent a 1,200-strong brigade with helicopters to Oman in 1973 and expanded it to an Imperial Iranian Task Force of about 4,000 in 1974. Helicopters kept isolated positions such as Simba supplied, and Iranian troops held the Damavand interdiction line. The air force’s Phantoms flew in support, and one was shot down. Outcome The rebellion was defeated; Iranian forces helped take Rakhyut, the rebels’ administrative centre. The date and circumstances of the F-4 loss, and the crew’s fate, were not confirmed in the sources consulted. The end year is the conventional end of the rebellion.
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| The Iran–Iraq Warthe Imposed War, the Sacred DefenceIslamic Republic of Iran Air Force | 1980–1988 | Iraq | F-14A Tomcat, F-4D/E Phantom II, RF-4Eand 3 more | — | — | |
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Counter-air raids on Iraqi bases, interdiction, close support, air defence of Iranian cities and oil terminals, and tanker escort. Iraq opened the war on 22 September 1980 with 166 to 192 aircraft striking Iranian airfields including Mehrabad. The Iranian air force, purged since 1979 and shaken by the Nojeh coup plot, recalled imprisoned pilots and hit back: Operation Kaman 99 from 23 September struck Iraqi bases from Mosul to Shaiba, and Iranian accounts claim Iraqi air efficiency fell by 55 per cent. On 30 September Phantoms of Operation Scorch Sword bombed Iraq’s Tuwaitha nuclear centre; Iraq and France called the damage minor, later reconnaissance showed support facilities and laboratories damaged, and Israel destroyed the reactor in June 1981. On 4 April 1981 eight Phantoms, refuelling four times at about 300 feet, struck the H-3 bases near the Jordanian border; Iran claims more than 40 aircraft destroyed. Iran’s early superiority faded as embargoed aircraft wore out. Iran claims its F-14s alone destroyed at least 160 Iraqi aircraft and an overall kill ratio of about 5:1, as reported by Cooper and Bishop and by Wikipedia; Iraqi sources dispute many claims, and independent verification exists only for a part of them. Outcome Ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire on 20 August 1988 with the pre-war border restored. Air-to-air claims are each side’s claims unless confirmed. Numbers for Kaman 99 and Scorch Sword vary between accounts (Wikipedia gives four Phantoms for Scorch Sword; other accounts give two).
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| Clashes with the US Navy in the Persian GulfOperation Praying Mantis and Iran Air Flight 655Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force | 1988 | United States | F-4 Phantom II, F-14A Tomcat | — | — | |
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F-4s tried to attack US warships during Operation Praying Mantis. On 18 April 1988, four days after USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine, the US Navy attacked Iranian oil platforms and warships. Two Iranian F-4s made an attack run and broke off when USS Lynde McCormick locked them up with its fire-control radar; later USS Wainwright fired Standard missiles at two F-4s, one of which was hit, losing part of a wing. On 3 July the cruiser USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655, an Airbus A300 climbing out of Bandar Abbas for Dubai, killing all 290 aboard. The US account is that the crew believed it was an Iranian F-14: Bandar Abbas was both an F-14 base and a civil airport, a mistaken military IFF reading was picked up, and the crew had been wrongly briefed that Iranian F-14s carried air-to-ground weapons. The ICAO found that the airliner was transmitting correct civil codes, climbing normally and on its assigned airway. Iran called the shoot-down deliberate and unlawful. In a 1996 settlement before the International Court of Justice the US paid 61.8 million dollars in compensation for 248 Iranian victims without accepting liability. Outcome The US Navy sank or crippled several Iranian vessels; Iran accepted a ceasefire with Iraq in August. The F-4 damage is the US account; no Iranian statement on it was found.
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| Strikes against the Islamic State in IraqIslamic Republic of Iran Air Force (reported) | 2014 | Islamic State | F-4 Phantom II | — | — | |
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Reported F-4 strikes on Islamic State militants near the Iranian border. On 30 November 2014 Al Jazeera reported that Iranian F-4 Phantoms had attacked Islamic State militants in Iraq. Iran neither confirmed nor denied taking part. In the same year Iran returned seven Su-25s, impounded since 1991, to Iraq. Outcome Iran neither confirmed nor denied the strikes. Based on media reporting; no official Iranian confirmation. |
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| The Twelve-Day WarOperation Rising Lion and True Promise IIIIslamic Republic of Iran Air Force | 2025 | Israel and United States | F-14A, F-5, KC-707 | — | — | |
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Largely unable to contest Israeli air operations; Iran’s retaliation was by IRGC missiles and drones. Israel attacked on 13 June 2025, killing senior commanders including the chief of the general staff, Mohammad Bagheri, and the IRGC Aerospace Force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who was replaced that day. Its aircraft struck air bases and airports including Hamadan, Tabriz, Isfahan, Mashhad, Dezful and Tehran’s Mehrabad, according to Wikipedia’s account. The Israeli military published evidence of a KC-707 destroyed at Mashhad, about 2,250 km from Israel, reportedly the air force’s only serviceable tanker, and claimed F-14s destroyed on the ground. Iran’s answer, Operation True Promise III, was about 525 ballistic missiles and more than 1,000 drones launched by the IRGC, not by the air force. The United States bombed nuclear sites on 22 June. Outcome Ceasefire on 24 June 2025. Loss figures are Israeli claims; Iran did not publish aircraft losses in the sources consulted. Western reporting describes Israeli air superiority within days.
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| The 2026 Iran warOperation Epic Fury (US) and Operation Roaring Lion (Israel)Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force | 2026– | United States and Israel | F-4E, F-5E, Su-24MKand 3 more | — | — | |
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Air defence over Iran and, unexpectedly, low-level strikes on US and allied bases. US and Israeli strikes beginning on 28 February 2026 killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; his son Mojtaba Khamenei was designated successor on 8 March. Israel said it destroyed an F-5 and an F-4 at Tabriz on 1 March as they prepared to take off. The next day, according to Qatar’s defence ministry, a Qatari F-15QA shot down two Su-24s flying at about 24 m towards Al Udeid; Forbes notes that MEMRI later questioned whether this happened. On 4 March, Israel says, an F-35I shot down a Yak-130 over Tehran. The ageing fleet nonetheless attacked: NBC News reported, as cited by Forbes, that an Iranian F-5 bombed Camp Buehring in Kuwait, the first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft had struck a US base in years. The analyst Farzin Nadimi called the tactics old school — low flying and sneak attacks. Iran’s main weapons were again the IRGC’s missiles and drones (Operation True Promise IV). A US F-15E was shot down by Iranian air defences on 3 April and its crew rescued. Outcome A ceasefire began on 8 April 2026 and a memorandum was signed on 17 June; sources differ on whether and how far fighting resumed afterwards. An ongoing conflict: every loss figure is a claim by one side, and the war’s status after June 2026 is described differently by different sources. Current dispositions are deliberately not given.
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Nothing matches that search.
Every figure, checked
- RFE/RL: Iran Pivots Toward China, But Is Beijing Ready To Play Ball? (1 July 2025)No Su-35 delivered; unconfirmed J-10C approaches; fleet condition after the June 2025 war.
- Forbes (Paul Iddon): Iran’s Outdated Air Force Went On The Offensive During U.S.-Israel War (4 May 2026)NBC report of F-5 strike on Camp Buehring; Su-24 incident and MEMRI doubts; Akraminia statement of 28 April 2026; Farzin Nadimi assessment.
Figures verified 2026-10-01. Back to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.