Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that the real number of US military aircraft downed by Iran is “far higher” than reported by Washington.
Araghchi made the remark in a post on his X account, citing figures from the US Congressional Research Service as he questioned Washington’s account of losses at its military bases.
He said the Congressional Research Service had acknowledged in May that Iran’s armed forces had downed 42 American military aircraft.
However, the figure has now increased to 81, he added.
“Real toll is far higher,” the top Iranian diplomat wrote.
In May, the Congressional Research Service admitted that Iran’s Armed Forces had taken out 42 U.S. military aircraft. Now: 81. Real toll is far higher. Proof? CENTCOM won’t let a sitting Senator inspect bases it claims are fine. You can fool all the people some of the time… https://t.co/eB3fRrJFt4
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) October 8, 2026
As evidence of a cover-up, Araghchi pointed to CENTCOM’s refusal to allow a sitting US senator to inspect bases that it claims are undamaged, without providing further details.
“You can fool all the people some of the time…,” Araghchi added, referring to a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on Monday says the United States has lost or sustained damage to at least 81 military aircraft and drones during Trump’s war on Iran, with the total replacement cost estimated at $1.9 billion to $3.3 billion.
The tally covers manned aircraft, helicopters and unmanned systems and includes combat losses, alleged accidents and aircraft damaged or destroyed on the ground.
Source: Iranian media (edited by Al-Manar)