Tehran — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims it has shot down an American military aircraft over Iranian territory, releasing dramatic cockpit‑style footage and thermal imagery that it says prove the incident, in what could be the most explosive moment yet in the spiralling confrontation with the United States.

State TV interrupted programming to broadcast grainy video said to be taken from an IRGC air‑defence battery: a fast‑moving radar track, a shouted countdown in Farsi, then the flare of a missile launch and a distant fireball tumbling from the night sky. Anchors hailed the shoot‑down as “a crushing response to American aggression,” insisting the jet had “violated Iranian sovereignty” on a surveillance mission near key missile sites.

Washington has confirmed the loss of an aircraft but is disputing Tehran’s version of events, saying only that “contact was lost with a U.S. asset operating in international airspace.” Pentagon officials refuse to specify the type of aircraft, fuelling speculation it could be a high‑end drone or even a crewed reconnaissance jet. Search‑and‑rescue flights have been spotted skimming the Gulf, while U.S. commanders warn that any attack on manned aircraft would be treated as a “red‑line escalation.”

On Iranian streets, the footage is being replayed on giant screens, with crowds chanting “Death to America” and waving IRGC flags. Hardline lawmakers are urging the Guard to publish more clips of “Big Action On Cam” to humiliate Washington and deter further incursions.

Analysts warn that if Iran has indeed brought down a U.S. aircraft inside its borders — and captured it on video — both sides now face immense domestic pressure: Tehran to double down, and Washington to hit back. In a crisis already teetering on the edge, one burning silhouette in the sky may have pushed the region even closer to open war.