Saturday, 12th July 2025

Iran says it refrained from shooting down US plane with 35 crew members

Friday, 21st June 2019

Iran said it refrained from shooting down a US plane flying in the vicinity of the downed RQ-4 drone, according to Iran’s commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

"While we were tracking the spy drone there was also a P-8 spy plane with 35 crew on board which we could have shot at, but we did not do so," Hajizadeh said on Friday.

Hajizadeh went on to say: "Last week the Americans said that Iranian forces had tried to shoot and destroy an American drone. If we wanted to destroy that drone we could have done so at that time.”