1976 Tehran UFO Incident — Iranian F-4 Phantom Weapons Systems Disabled by Object

On the night of September 18-19, 1976, the Imperial Iranian Air Force scrambled two F-4 Phantom jets in response to civilian reports of a brilliantly glowing object over Tehran. The incident became one of the most significant documented cases of UAP interference with military aircraft systems. The first F-4 to approach the object had all of its instruments and communications fail as it closed to within a certain range, then recovered when it broke off pursuit. The second pilot attempted to fire an AIM-9 missile at the object, but his weapons control panel went dark at the moment of intended launch. A second attempt to fire also failed. The object appeared to release a smaller bright object that descended toward the ground. The object was tracked on radar, appeared to be large, and performed maneuvers no known aircraft could replicate. The event was documented in a Defense Intelligence Agency report that was later declassified and became one of the most-cited government documents in UAP research. The DIA report assessed the account as credible and noted the multiple radar confirmations, multiple aircraft, and multiple crew witnesses. General Parviz Jafari, the pilot of the second F-4, gave a detailed account at a National Press Club event in 2007, maintaining the truth of his report nearly 30 years later.