The 1976 Tehran UFO Incident: A Haunting Encounter
In the early hours of September 19, 1976, residents of Tehran reported seeing mysterious lights in the night sky. So much so that the Imperial Air Force of Iran (remember, this is before the Revolution) ended up scrambling a pair of F-4 Phantom jets to investigate the apparent “UFO.”
The first Phantom was forced to return to base before it could even intercept the object due to mechanical issues. So, a second Phantom was sent up. Piloting this aircraft was Major Parviz Jafari (that’s him in the pic below), a squadron leader in the IIAF. He was able to gain a radar lock on the object, as well as a visual. According to him, the UFO was about the size of a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and described it as “flashing with intense red, green, orange, and blue lights so bright that I was not able to see its body.”
A Close Encounter
Then suddenly, a smaller green object shot out from the UFO and towards Jafari’s jet. Going evasive, he attempted to lock with an AiM-9 missile, but as he closed range, the weapon systems on the Phantom went dead. This meant he was now unable to defend himself from the “hostile” UFO. Nor could he contact ground control.
But things got even stranger, as the small green object from earlier quite literally began to fly circles around Jafari’s jet. Eventually, Jafari was able to regain contact with the base and was instructed to return. But as he did so, he observed another object emerging from the main one and heading directly toward the ground. Investigations into where the other object had seemingly “crashed” found nothing, while local residents did report hearing a loud noise and a bright flash of light during the night.
Unresolved Mysteries
Obviously, this event really rattled the Imperial Air Force, and it was said that the Shah of Iran himself was following the investigations that took place in the weeks following the incident. But we may never know just what came of this, as it’s believed many of the files were either lost or destroyed during the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Either way, the Tehran UFO Incident is one of the best-documented cases of an engagement between a military jet and a “UFO.” Jafari was invited to speak about his encounter in many documentaries. There was even a movie made in Iran about the incident, starring many who were involved on that night and even using the actual radio transmissions between Jafari and Ground Control.
~NC
