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Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has cited a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report listing 81 US military aircraft reportedly lost or damaged during operations against Iran, saying the real toll is far higher.
In a post on X on Thursday, Araghchi said, In May, the Congressional Research Service admitted that Irans Armed Forces had taken out 42 U.S. military aircraft. Now: 81. https://x.com/araghchi/status/2108074539355701620 Real toll is far higher, he added. Araghchi questioned the US militarys assessment of the losses, saying, Proof? CENTCOM wont let a sitting Senator inspect bases it claims are fine. You can fool all the people some of the time... he added. The CRS report, titled U.S. Aircraft Combat Losses in Operation Epic Fury: Considerations for Congress and updated on October 5, lists 81 fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft, including uncrewed aircraft systems, that were reportedly lost or damaged in US operations against Iran since February 28. According to the report, the list was compiled from news reports, statements by the US Department of Defense and US Central Command (CENTCOM), and the Department of Defense Inspector General. The CRS said the number of aircraft may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors, including classification, ongoing combat activity and attribution. It also noted that some damaged aircraft may have been returned to active service. The report lists 12 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter aircraft, one F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft, two A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft, seven KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft, one E-3 Sentry airborne early warning-and-control aircraft, two MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft and one HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search-and-rescue helicopter. It also lists one MQ-4C Triton, three MQ-1 multi-role uncrewed aircraft, 45 MQ-9 Reaper multi-role uncrewed aircraft, one AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, four AH-6 Little Bird light attack helicopters and one MH-60 Sea Hawk maritime helicopter. The CRS report said the US Department of Defense on September 14 published a Lead Inspector General report assessing certain equipment losses relating to operations against Iran between April 1 and June 30. It said the reported incidents could raise several considerations for Congress, including whether lawmakers have sufficient information to assess aircraft losses and replacement plans, the budgetary impact of replacing or repairing aircraft, force sufficiency, industrial base capacity and operational risks. The report also noted that in September, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of equipment losses as of August 1 at between USD 1.9 billion and USD 3.3 billion, depending on Department of Defense plans for replacements. Meanwhile, according to Axios, citing US officials, US President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on resuming major combat operations against Iran, but the Pentagon has been instructed to prepare for possible fresh strikes. According to the report, the Pentagon instructed US Central Command (US CENTCOM) several days ago to conclude preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran. The directive did not set a specific date for launching strikes. US and Israeli officials told Axios that renewed combat operations could take place before the US midterm elections, scheduled to be held on November 3, and possibly ahead of Israeli elections, which are expected a week earlier. (ANI)
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