Iran has claimed a historic first — striking a US F-35 stealth fighter jet during an active combat mission, a move that could reshape the narrative around air dominance in the ongoing conflict. A video circulating online appears to show the moment the jet was hit mid-air, with visible smoke and the aircraft veering off course. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says the strike happened over central Iranian airspace using advanced air defence systems. The United States has confirmed that an F-35 was forced to make an emergency landing after encountering a missile barrage, though officials have not confirmed a direct hit.

Israel has launched one of its most dramatic strikes of the war, sending around 50 fighter jets to destroy a secret underground bunker linked to Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the heart of Tehran. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the fortified complex stretched beneath multiple streets in the Iranian capital and was designed as a secure wartime command center for Iran’s top leadership. Israeli officials say the bunker continued to be used by senior regime figures even after Khamenei was killed in an earlier strike.