US F-15E Fighter Jet Shot Down Over Iran in First Such Loss Since War Began

A U.S. F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran on April 3, 2026, marking the first American aircraft lost over Iranian territory since the war began, with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claiming responsibility and Special Operations teams conducting search and rescue operations in Khuzestan. The incident occurs amid escalating U.S.-Israeli military operations that have killed over 1,900 people in Iran according to Iranian officials, including a strike on the B1 Bridge between Tehran and Karaj that killed eight people. Iran continues blocking the Strait of Hormuz, driving West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices up 11.9 percent to $112 per barrel, while the UN Security Council prepares to vote on authorizing defensive action to reopen the vital trade route. More than 100 U.S. legal experts have challenged the campaign's legal justification, while President Trump has suggested the U.S. could seize Iranian oil, and the broader Middle East conflict has killed over 3,000 people including 1,300 in Lebanon.

Downing of U.S. F-15 Fighter Jet Over Iran

• ▪A search and rescue mission including Special Operations personnel recovery teams was underway after the F-15 fighter jet went down over Iran
• ▪The fate of those inside the F-15 fighter jet that went down over Iran was not immediately clear
• ▪A two-seater F-15 fighter jet went down over Iran on April 3, 2026

U.S. Strikes on Iranian Civilian Infrastructure

• ▪President Donald Trump warned that the United States has not even started destroying what is left in Iran
• ▪The U.S. military struck the B1 Bridge between Tehran and Karaj, Iran

Blockade of Strait of Hormuz and Economic Impact

• ▪The FAO Food Price Index increased 2.4 percent in March 2026 from February 2026
• ▪The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on April 4, 2026 on a proposal that would authorize defensive action to allow vessels to safely transit the Strait of Hormuz
• ▪West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 11.9 percent to $112 a barrel on April 3, 2026, its highest level since 2022
• ▪Vegetable oil prices increased 5.1 percent in March 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly rise
• ▪West Texas Intermediate crude oil was at $54 per barrel at the start of 2026
• ▪World food prices climbed in March 2026 to their highest level since September 2025, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

Regional Escalation and Humanitarian Consequences

• ▪More than 3,000 people have been killed across the Middle East in the conflict as of April 3, 2026
• ▪At least 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon in the conflict
• ▪Israel's military assault in Lebanon has displaced more than 1 million people
• ▪Pope Leo XIV urged Israeli President Isaac Herzog to reopen all paths of dialogue to end the Iran war in a phone call on April 3, 2026
• ▪Amnesty International warned that Iran's recruitment of children as young as 12 for the Revolutionary Guard's Basij force amounts to a war crime

Perspective of Iranian government officials

• ▪Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps publicly claimed credit for shooting down the U.S. F-15E fighter jet over Iranian territory

Perspective of Benjamin Netanyahu

• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel has destroyed 70 percent of Iran's steel production capacity in recent days