A new episode further strains the war in has claimed that the US tanker plane that crashed in western Iraq was shot down by a missile, an attack that Tehran says killed the entire crew.
The Iranian version was broadcast by the Tasnim agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, which cited statements by a spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Unified Operations Command.
According to that source, the United States military aircraft was hit by a missile launched by Iraqi armed groups, which caused the plane to lose control and end up crashing.
Subsequently, the Iranian stated in a statement that the attack left six dead, all of the crew members traveling on the device.
The missile, according to that version, hit at the moment when the tanker plane was refueling an “enemy” fighter in flight during military operations in the region.
Washington talks about accident
The American version is very different.
The United States Army Central Command (Centcom) had previously reported that the plane, a KC-135, crashed due to an accident that occurred in allied airspace while participating in operations related to the offensive against Iran.
The Pentagon also assured that there is no indication that the incident was caused by hostile fire or friendly fire, thus contradicting the version spread by the Iranian authorities.
Washington has also not confirmed the exact number of crew members traveling on the plane and noted that rescue efforts continue, although it did not offer more details about possible victims.
Iraqi militias at the center of tension
The statements by the Iranian military spokesman also do not specify precisely which group would have launched the missile, although they point to “resistance groups” in Iraq, an expression usually used to refer to Shiite militias close to Iran.
Numerous armed factions operate in Iraq grouped under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces, an organization created in 2014 to combat the jihadist group Islamic State.
Over the years, these militias were formally integrated into the Iraqi Armed Forces and have been part of the country’s official security system since 2016.
However, some of its factions maintain strong proximity to Tehran and have been accused by the United States of attacking American interests in Iraq.
In fact, Washington has even designated several of these militias as terrorist organizations, which has fueled tensions between both countries for years.
A new episode in regional escalation
The incident occurs amid the growing military escalation in the Middle East following the offensive launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
Since then, the region has experienced a chain of attacks, reprisals and military operations involving several countries and numerous allied militias.
The fall of the tanker plane now adds a new focus of controversy, with two completely opposite versions of what happened: one that points to an accident and another that speaks directly of a shootdown in the midst of a conflict.
