An Israeli F-35I fighter jet shot down an Iranian YAK-130 aircraft over the skies of Tehran on March 3. 

The shooting marks the first downing of a manned fighter jet by an F-35 globally, the IDF announced. 

The engagement occurred amid renewed Israeli strikes on Isfahan, Tehran, and Shiraz as exchanges of fire intensified on March 3.

The operation began at approximately 5:53 AM on March 4 when sirens sounded across Israel as Iranian missiles were detected.

The IDF subsequently announced that the Air Force "has begun broad-scale strikes targeting Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran."

Simultaneously, conflict intensified along the Israel-Lebanon border, with IDF strikes reported in Beirut's Dahiya neighbourhood.

This marks the first verified Israeli downing of an enemy aircraft since November 24, 1985, when an F-15 "Baz" destroyed two Syrian MiG-23 fighters over Lebanon.

The F-35's combat milestone demonstrates the advanced capabilities of Israel's fifth-generation fighter fleet in contested airspace deep inside Iranian territory.

The downing occurred during what IDF spokesman Efi Difrin described in a press statement as "a broad wave of attacks against regime targets throughout Iran."

Israeli forces struck a compound in Isfahan used to store and launch ballistic missiles, including Ghadr missiles, alongside numerous sites housing ballistic missiles and defence systems.

"During a broad wave of strikes conducted by the Israeli Air Force and guided by precise IDF intelligence, dozens of Iranian terror regime infrastructure sites were struck across Iran," the IDF confirmed in a statement on March 4.