Iran Fighter Jet Crashes after Engine Fails, Pilots Survive

Iranian air force’s US-made F-4 Phantom fighter jets perform during a parade on the occasion of the country’s Army Day, on April 18, 2017, in Tehran. (AFP)
Iranian air force’s US-made F-4 Phantom fighter jets perform during a parade on the occasion of the country’s Army Day, on April 18, 2017, in Tehran. (AFP)
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Iran Fighter Jet Crashes after Engine Fails, Pilots Survive

Iranian air force’s US-made F-4 Phantom fighter jets perform during a parade on the occasion of the country’s Army Day, on April 18, 2017, in Tehran. (AFP)
Iranian air force’s US-made F-4 Phantom fighter jets perform during a parade on the occasion of the country’s Army Day, on April 18, 2017, in Tehran. (AFP)

An Iranian fighter plane crashed near the central city of Isfahan on Saturday after its engine failed, but both pilots survived, media reported.

The pilots were taken to a local hospital, the official IRNA news agency said. It said there was a technical failure in the engine of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat that led to the crash.

A clip by the agency showed columns of smoke billowing from the remains of the aircraft in a desert area.

Iran’s air force has an assortment of US-made military aircraft purchased before the 1979 revolution and the Tomcat F-14 is American-made. It also has Russian-made MiG and Sukhoi planes. Decades of Western sanctions have made it hard to obtain spare parts and maintain the aging aircraft.

Iran has a history of similar crashes among its faltering fleet. In May a fighter jet crashed in the central desert of Iran, killing both pilots. In February, a fighter jet plunged into a soccer field in the country’s northwestern city of Tabriz, killing both pilots and a civilian.



Israeli Defense Minister Officially Steps Down

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
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Israeli Defense Minister Officially Steps Down

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)
Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant talks during the joint statements after his meeting with Greece's National Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (not pictured) at the Defense Ministry in Athens, Greece, 4 Μay 2023. (EPA)

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this week.

Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza, The AP reported.

Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.

Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a US deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches. But the body did not say when the crossing will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.

The United Nations humanitarian office says Israel's monthlong offensive in northern Gaza is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That’s less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.