The 1976 Tehran UFO Incident

On September 19, 1976, Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom jets were scrambled to intercept a brilliant UFO over Tehran. During the encounter, the object demonstrated apparent awareness of the aircraft, releasing smaller objects and disabling the jets’ weapons and instrumentation systems. The case was documented in a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report that called it a “classic” UFO encounter.

The Sighting

At approximately 12:30 AM, the Iranian Air Force received multiple calls about a bright object in the sky over Tehran. The object was visible from the ground and was reported as diamond-shaped and brilliantly illuminated with flashing colored lights.

General Yousefi, the assistant deputy commander of operations, observed the object himself before ordering an F-4 Phantom to intercept.

First Intercept

The first F-4, piloted by Captain Aziz Khani, approached the object. As he neared, his instrumentation and communications equipment failed. He broke off the intercept and turned back toward base. As he moved away, his equipment began functioning again.

Second Intercept

A second F-4, piloted by Lieutenant Parviz Jafari, was scrambled. Jafari observed the object on radar and pursued. As he closed to weapons range and attempted to arm his missiles, his weapons control panel went dead. His communications failed.

The Smaller Object

The UFO released a smaller, brightly lit object that descended toward Jafari’s aircraft at high speed. Believing he was under attack, Jafari attempted to fire a missile but found his weapons system completely disabled.

The smaller object flew past his aircraft and rejoined the larger UFO. A second smaller object was released and descended toward the ground before the main UFO departed.

Documentation

The incident was documented by Iranian authorities and reported to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency through the U.S. military advisory group in Iran. The DIA report describes the case in detail and notes several features that make it a “classic” UFO encounter: multiple credible witnesses, visual and radar confirmation, equipment failures, and effects on multiple independent systems.

Assessment

The Tehran incident is considered one of the most significant military UFO encounters due to the caliber of witnesses, the documentation, and the apparent technological demonstration. Something over Tehran displayed awareness of the intercepting aircraft and apparently disabled their weapons and communications at will.

Whatever visited Iran that night demonstrated capabilities far beyond 1976 technology—capabilities that raised uncomfortable questions about our vulnerability.