On Friday, June 13, Israel launched attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear and military facilities. In response, Iran launched missile attacks against Israel. Since then, the two countries have continued exchanging strikes. Amid this, a claim began circulating on social media: “Pakistan has entered the war. Three F-35s were shot down on the Iran border by Pakistani guided missiles, not Iranian ones.”
To support this claim, users shared an image of a supposed news article from a media outlet called “The Jerusalem Times,” with the headline, “MISSILES FIRED FROM PAKISTAN DOWN F-35 OVER IRAN.” The alleged report claims Israeli F-35s were downed over Iran by missiles launched from Pakistan, and that Israel confirmed the loss of the fighter jets. It also claims that senior Iranian officials condemned Pakistan’s actions.
View such Facebook posts here: Here (Archive) and Here (Archive).
Fact Check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that the claim about Israeli F-35 fighter jets being shot down by Pakistani missiles is false. In reality, there is no credible evidence that Pakistan has militarily joined the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. The image of the alleged news article used to support this claim was created using artificial intelligence (AI).
A closer review of the posts shows that the claim relies on a supposed article from “The Jerusalem Times,” a media outlet that does not actually exist. The headline reads: “MISSILES FIRED FROM PAKISTAN DOWN F-35 OVER IRAN.” The article claims Pakistan launched the missiles, and that Israel confirmed the jet losses, while Iranian officials condemned Pakistan.
First, if Pakistan had downed Israeli jets on Iran’s behalf, it would be inconsistent for Iranian officials to condemn such action. Second, no credible media outlet by the name “The Jerusalem Times” can be found.
Also, there is no reliable evidence that Pakistan has become militarily involved in the Iran-Israel conflict. However, according to several international media sources such as Arab News and Anadolu Agency, Pakistan has condemned Israel’s attack on Iran and expressed support for Iran. Pakistan has also called for an end to the ongoing conflict.
Regarding the claim that Israeli F-35 fighter jets were downed, Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported on June 13 that two Israeli F-35s had been shot down. The next day, June 14, IRNA cited the Iranian military stating that one more F-35 had been downed. Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency also reported this, citing IRNA. However, Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee denied these claims on X (formerly Twitter), saying the reports were completely false.
Additionally, a June 14 report by Al Jazeera noted that Iranian state media claimed they had downed advanced Israeli F-35 jets, quoting a military statement. But so far, no official videos or visual proof have emerged. Israeli officials have dismissed these reports as fabricated and false.
There is also no credible mention of Pakistan in any verified report about the F-35 incidents. Notably, the image of the alleged “news article” circulated with the claim contains a spelling error (“deelared” instead of “declared”) and lacks a publication date, image, or any additional reporting details. When checked through AI-detection tools such as Hive Moderation and AI or Not, the image showed high likelihood of being AI-generated.
Previously, a similar AI-generated image was circulated claiming that UK media outlet The Telegraph reported “Pakistan is the king of the skies.” Rumor Scanner debunked that as well in this fact-check.
Conclusion
The claim that three Israeli F-35 fighter jets were downed by Pakistani missiles is false.
Sources
- Anadolu Agency – Pakistan vows to ‘stand behind’ Iran, calls for Muslim unity against Israel
- IRNA – Iran destroys two Israeli F-35 fighter jets
- IRNA – Iran shoots down another F-35 fighter jet belonging to Israel: Army
- Anadolu Agency – 3rd Israeli fighter jet shot down in Iran: IRNA
- Al Jazeera – Iran strikes Israel with new missile, drone attack; Israel bombs Tehran
- Rumor Scanner’s analysis
