On September 19, 1976, a radar and visual sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) was reported over Tehran, the capital city of Iran. During the event, two planes from the Imperial Iranian Air Force, called F-4 Phantom II interceptors, said their instruments and radio stopped working as they approached the object. These systems worked again when the planes moved away. One of the planes also reported that its weapons system briefly stopped working while the crew was preparing to fire.

This event is considered one of the most believable in the study of UFOs because of the amount of evidence collected and the trustworthiness of the people who witnessed it.

Background

Tehran was the capital of Iran, which was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty. This dynasty had strong military connections with the United States.

The event took place during the Cold War, a period when unexplained flying objects were a major worry.

Incident

On September 19, 1976, at around 1:00 AM, four people in Tehran saw a bright object in the sky. The Mehrabad Tower first did not believe the reports. However, a senior officer decided to check for himself and saw a glowing object moving unpredictably with flashing blue, green, red, and orange lights.

At 1:30 AM, Lieutenant Yaddi Nazeri of the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) and a weapons officer flew in an F-4 Phantom II jet to investigate. They spotted the object from 70 miles away. When they reached 25 nautical miles away, their instruments and communications stopped working. They returned to base and reported that their equipment returned to normal after they landed.

Ten minutes later, Major Parviz Jafari, an IIAF squadron commander, and First Lieutenant Jalal Damirian flew a second F-4 Phantom II to investigate. Jafari used radar to track an object 27 nautical miles away, moving toward them at 150 knots (280 km/h; 170 mph). The object appeared similar in size to a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. When they reached 25 nautical miles, the object seemed to move away. As Jafari approached, the object flashed bright red, green, orange, and blue lights so intensely that he could not see its shape. His plane’s communications system then shut down.

Jafari later said he saw a round object separate from the main object and move quickly toward him, like a missile. When he tried to fire an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, his weapons controls and communications failed. He turned his plane and dove to avoid the object, which followed him from 3–4 nautical miles away. The object then moved away, returned, and joined the main object again. At the same time, the ejection seat on his plane also stopped working.

When Jafari could contact air traffic control, he was told to return to base. As he flew back, he saw the main object, described as diamond-shaped, and another bright object that moved toward the ground. He expected an explosion but saw the object slow down and land gently, glowing brightly. He marked its location by descending from 25,000 to 15,000 feet.

After landing, the jet had technical problems. A nearby airliner also reported radio failures.

The next day, Jafari and Damirian flew by helicopter to the landing site but found nothing. A beeping transponder was detected as the helicopter circled west. People nearby reported hearing a loud noise and seeing a bright flash the night before. Tests, including radiation checks, were planned for the area, but the results were not reported.

Aftermath

An initial report about the event was sent to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff on the same day it happened. Other offices and agencies in the United States that received the report include the Secretary of State, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the White House, the Air Force (CSAF), the Army Chiefs of Staff (CSA), the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Commander in Chief of U.S. Naval Forces in the Middle East, the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Air Force in Europe, the European Defense Air Command, and the Commander in Chief of Forces in Europe. However, it was reportedly a common practice to send such reports to these offices in the sensitive Middle East area.

Analysis

According to Martin Bridgstock of Griffith University:

U.S. journalist Philip J. Klass suggested that the pilots may have first seen an astronomical object, likely Jupiter, a possibility also mentioned by aerospace researcher James Oberg. Klass stated that pilot errors and equipment problems probably caused the reported technical failures.

Klass noted that a Westinghouse technician at Shahrokhi Airbase said only the first F-4 aircraft reported equipment failure. This F-4 had a history of electrical problems and had been repaired just a month before the incident. Klass also included the opinion of a McDonnell Douglas repair supervisor, who said the F-4's radar could have been in "manual track" mode, leading to a mistaken radar reading.

Bridgstock criticized UFOlogists’ reports as "not a reliable account of the Iran UFO incident" and summarized Klass’ conclusions:

One pilot described seeing "bright objects" that "came at him and shot straight down into the ground." American skeptic author Brian Dunning pointed out that on September 19, the day of the incident, two annual meteorite showers—the Gamma Piscids and the Southern Piscids—and the tail of the Eta Draconids shower were active. This means seeing falling objects or unusual lights would not have been unusual. A beeping transponder found at the supposed crash site was from a C-141 aircraft, according to investigating Col. Mooy. However, he noted that "they’d been having problems with the beepers being ejected simply by turbulence over the mountains just north of Tehran."

Dunning criticized UFOlogists and UFO-themed television programs like Sightings for describing the incident as if the light was from a hostile, intelligent alien spacecraft.

In popular culture

Retired General Parviz Jafari later gave a public statement about the incident at the 2007 National Press Club conference in Washington, D.C.

The incident was the subject of an Iranian movie.

The incident has been reported in the following media:

• The Sightings television program covered the incident in 1994, interviewing many of the participants.
• The Daily Telegraph's list of top 10 UFO sightings (#7).
• The Guardian's list of top 10 UFO sightings (#10).

An editorial (see below) was published in the United States Air Force Security Services quarterly MIJI (Meaconing, Intrusion, Jamming, and Interference) newsletter. This newsletter is "often used by UFOlogists as strong evidence." According to Dunning, "because this service requires a security clearance, their newsletter is protected as well. There is nothing especially interesting about the actual article; it is simply a dramatized retelling of the same information in Col. Mooy's memo, presented in the newsletter as a curious editorial on the topic of jamming and interference."

• Editorial from the US Air Force MIJI newsletter (page 1)
• Editorial from the US Air Force MIJI newsletter (page 2)
• Editorial from the US Air Force MIJI newsletter (page 3)