The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that his country’s military detected six F-35 jets near the borders of Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) attack two Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces, learned BulgarianMilitary.com, quoting AMN and Avia.pro.
As we told earlier this month Russian air defense systems deployed in Syria will provide Iran with all the necessary information about US attempts to attack the Islamic republic from the western direction.
The capabilities of these Russian air defense / missile defense systems are enough to track the movement of any U.S. air force aircraft in western Iraq, eastern Jordan and northeastern Turkey.
According to experts, Iran is one of the few Russian military allies in this region, and in the event of a large-scale military conflict between the two sides, Russia will be ready to provide Tehran with any necessary assistance.
Citing Lavrov’s statement, the aviation publication Avia.Pro reported that the Russian Foreign Minister claimed his country’s armed forces were able to track the presence of the F-35 jets because of their air defense systems in the Middle East region.“At that time, there were at least six F-35s in the air, on the border, near Iranian airspace. This information still requires rechecking, but emphasizes the whole nervousness of the situation,” Lavrov said.
According to Avia.Pro, if Lavrov’s claims are in fact true, that would mean the U.S. warplanes were likely on the western border of Iran.
“According to the data available to Avia.pro, today, there is really only one long-range radar in this direction – the over-the-horizon container radar; however, given the maximum radius of its action, it can cover only part of the Iranian borders, and obviously, American F-35 fighters were located precisely on the western borders of Iran,” they said.
“The fact that U.S. stealth fighters found Russian air defense systems means that Russia has complete control over the F-35, even outside the Middle East” a specialist told Avia.Pro.
There have been rumors that Iran suspected U.S. jets entering their airspace after the attack; however, there has been no data to corroborate these claims.