Wreckage of ‘downed US fighter’ posted by Iran matches F-15 fighter that’s primarily based within the UK as Tehran’s missiles hit water plant and oil refineries – stay updates

The wreckage of an apparent downed American warplane posted by Iranian media matches an F-15 aircraft based in Britain, it has been claimed.

Iranian military today claimed it has brought down a second F-35 fighter jet by forcing it to crash over central Iran.

But aviation experts say the remains posted by Iran sport the US Air Force in Europe badge as well as a red tail flash belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

They say the plane is likely to be an F-15E Strike Eagle – the same type of plane as the three aircraft shot down by Kuwait’s air force at the start of the conflict.

‘Considering the amount of fake and AI-generated imagery Iranian sources have circulated online since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, it is legitimate to question the authenticity of these photos,’ a report on the Aviationist website states.

While the F-35 fighter jet is a single-seater aircraft, the F-15 carries two aircrew.

Here are the latest developments from Middle East on the 35th day of the US-Israel war with Iran:

• Iran has launched new attacks on Gulf energy sites with strikes on a desalination plant and oil refinery in Kuwait as well as a gas complex in Abu Dhabi
• Iran has claimed it has shot down a second US F-35 fighter jet forcing it to crash
• But aviation experts studying pictures published of the wreckage say the aircraft is likely to be a F-15 plane based at a RAF base in Suffolk
• Donald Trump has said Iran’s electric power plants will be targeted after he boasted about a strike on the country’s tallest bridge
• Multiple fires have broken out at a Kuwaiti oil refinery after a drone attack
• Israel’s military has said cars, houses and a train station have been damaged in the latest missile salvo from Iran
• A French owned container ship sails through Strait of Hormuz in the first known transit linked to Western Europe
• Australians are cancelling their Easter holidays because of rising fears of fuel supplies in the country
• Pakistan has hiked petrol prices by more than 50 per cent – the second increase to costs in a month

Stick with us for the latest developments throughout the day.

An American pilot of a warplane that was apparently shot down by Iran has been captured by Tehran, Iranian state media is reporting.

The Tasnim news agency is reporting the pilot ejected and landed in central Iran this morning. According to Iranian media, the US military attempted to extract the pilot before he was captured by Iranian forces.

Iran earlier claimed it has shot down a second F-35 plane after it forced one to make an emergency landing in the Middle East on March 19.

US military has yet to comment on the claim but has regularly debunked Iran’s claims including boasts another warplane was shot down over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump has fired off his first Truth Social post today but has not mentioned Iran.

Instead the President has announced his VP JD Vance will lead a crackdown of fraud in the US.

Trump said: ‘Vice President JD Vance is now in charge of “FRAUD” in the United States.

‘It is massive and pervasive, and the job he will be doing, in conjunction with many great people within the Trump Administration, will be a major factor in how great the future of our Country will be.’

Last night Trump posted Iran’s electric power plants will be targeted in the next strikes after the B1 bridge was partially destroyed yesterday.

At least 12 people have been injured in Abu Dhabi as a result of falling debris, authorities have said.

Officials say six Nepalese nationals and five Indians suffered ‘minor to moderate’ wounds in Ajban while another person from Nepal suffered major injuries.

The injuries occured from debris which fell to the ground following an interception of either a drone or a missile.

It comes after authorities said they were responding to two incidents in Abu Dhabi, one in Ajban, and the other at the Habshan gas complex – the largest gas processing plant in the country.

Operations were suspended earlier today as authorities tackled a fire caused by the incident, with no injuries reported, the statement said.

A drone strike in Iran hit a warehouse holding aid containers and emergency vehicles, a spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross has said.

The strike in the southern province of Bushehr earlier today destroyed two containers, two buses and an unspecified number of emergency vehicles, the spokesperson said.

She did not attribute blame for the attack.

The IFRC is the only humanitarian group working across the country and has 100,000 responders. Three of them have been killed since the US-Israeli strikes on the country began on February 28.

Its head of delegation in Iran told Reuters on Thursday that medical needs were rising exponentially and supplies could run low.

Israel’s military has said it plans to strike two bridges in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region, warning residents in the area to evacuate.

‘In order to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment… the IDF intends to target the Sohmor and Mashghara bridges,’ the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.

‘For your safety, you must continue moving to the area north of the Zahrani River and refrain from any movement southward that may endanger your lives.’

It comes after the B1 highway bridge in Iran, said to be the tallest in the Middle East, was struck in airstrike yesterday.

This is the moment an Iranian ballistic missile struck the Israeli city of Petah Tikva which caused damage to a number of buildings.

According to Israeli media, the missile struck between a residential neighbourhood and the city’s industrial zone, causing a large crater.

The resulting shockwave heavily damaging nearby buildings. There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Britain is deploying its Rapid Sentry air defence system to Kuwait to help protect British and Kuwaiti interests in the Gulf following an Iranian attack on an oil refinery.

Sir Keir Starmer discussed the deployment in a call with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah earlier this morning, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

‘The Prime Minister began by condemning the reckless overnight drone attack on a Kuwaiti oil refinery,’ the spokesperson said. ‘He reiterated that the UK stands with Kuwait and all our allies in the Gulf.’

The spokesperson said the leaders discussed the deployment of the UK’s air defence system – designed primarily to shoot down drones and other low-flying aerial threats – to Kuwait, which would protect Kuwaiti and British personnel and interests in the region, while avoiding escalation into a wider conflict.

Bangladesh has cut office and shop hours and banned decorative lighting at weddings starting in an effort to save energy following the Iran war.

Bangladesh imports 95 per cent of its oil and gas needs, mostly from the Middle East and said that, while there are adequate stocks of petrol and diesel, it hopes to mitigate the effects of ‘unsecured’ supply lines.

About 60 percent of its electricity is generated using imported gas, while diesel is primarily used for farming in the region.

Dhaka ordered all government, private offices and banks to shut an hour earlier each day starting Friday until further notice.

Shopping centres, which normally stay open late, will now shut by 6 pm, although stores selling food supplies are expected to keep their usual hours.

Decorative lighting, which was initially banned at malls, has now been extended to include weddings.

Tehran has today claimed it shot down a second US F-35 fighter jet forcing it to crash over central Iran.

The US is yet to comment on the claims but has regularly debunked other Iranian claims on X.

Some observers have questioned the latest claims by Iran and say the squadron markings shown in the supposed wreckage indicate a F-15 plane instead of a F-35.

One wrote on X: ‘Iranians claimed that it was a downed F-35, but a closer look at the wreckage indicates F-15.’

While one of our readers pointed out: ‘It’s either an F-35 or F-15 as the squadron markings on the images circulating show it is based in Lakenheath where both F-35 and F-15 are based. Looks like it hit the ground vertically, so smashed into millions of small pieces so it’s hard to be sure.’

All mass services in Dubai have been cancelled ahead of Easter because of the Iran war.

Two Catholic churches in the UAE confirmed the cancellations on their websites today following government directives.

‘all Masses at our Church are cancelled until further notice,’ St Francis of Assisi Church at Jebel Ali in Dubai posted.

The Jebel Ali coastal area has been hit several times by missiles and drones fired by Iran at neighbouring Gulf states in retaliation for the Israeli-US offensive launched on February 28.

‘Parishioners are requested to refrain from visiting the Church premises, in the interest of safety and community well-being,’ the announcement added.

St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai published a similar announcement on its website, and said Good Friday’s mass would be live-streamed online instead, on the church’s YouTube channel.