• Aircraft landed safely at a US base; pilot reported in stable condition.
• Comes amid ongoing conflict involving US-Israel offensive against Iran.
• Several US aircraft losses reported, though none previously linked to Iran fire.

A US F-35 stealth warplane was hit by suspected Iranian fire and made an emergency landing at an American air base in the Middle East, US media reported on Thursday.

“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, said in a statement, without confirming the reports from outlets including ABC and CNN.

“This incident is under investigation,” Hawkins added.

The United States has lost multiple aircraft during the conflict — including three F-15s mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti forces, and a KC-135 refuelling aircraft that crashed in Iraq — but none that are known to have been hit by Iranian fire.

The United States and Israel launched a massive air campaign against Iran following a major buildup of US military forces — including F-35s — in the region.

Thirteen US service members have been killed since the start of the operation on February 28: six in the KC-135 crash and seven in Iranian attacks early in the war.

Around 200 US military personnel have also been wounded in seven countries across the Middle East since the start of the war, most of whom have already returned to duty, according to the US military.

Meanwhile, a US official and three other people familiar with the planning told Reuters that Trump was considering sending thousands more US troops to the Middle East as a war that has so far killed more than 2,000 people continued to rage.

But on Thursday, Trump said he had no plans to deploy ground forces. “I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he said.

Netanyahu later on Thursday said that Israel acted alone in the bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field and confirmed that Trump asked Israel to hold off on such attacks.

Iran is being “decimated” and no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles after 20 days of US-Israeli air attacks, but a revolution in the country would not come from the air and would require a “ground component,” he said, without elaborating.

As the Israeli leader spoke, Iran launched a new wave of missiles toward his country, according to Israel’s military and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

DUBAI: The United States has approved a possible $4.5 billion sale of an advanced missile defence system to the United Arab Emirates, the State Department said on Thursday.

In a statement, the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said the deal includes a powerful long-range radar and the THAAD system, which is designed to shoot down incoming missiles before they hit their targets.

Officials described the radar as a highly advanced system that can detect threats from far distances, including ballistic missiles and drones.

“The proposed sale will improve the UAE’s ability to meet current and future threats,” the statement said, adding that it would help protect the country from attacks coming from all directions.

The State Department said the sale was approved on an emergency basis, allowing the administration to bypass the usual congressional review process due to national security concerns.

Washington said the UAE is an “important regional partner” and that the deal would support stability in the Middle East.

The agreement includes five years of training, technical support and maintenance services to ensure the system operates effectively.

The main contractor for the deal is Lockheed Martin Corporation, a leading American defence company known for producing advanced missile and radar systems.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasizes that Iran will under no circumstances compromise the security of its people.

The top diplomat made the remarks in a telephone call with his Swedish counterpart Maria Malmer Stenergard on Wednesday.

During the conversation, Araghchi condemned Sweden’s “regrettable support” for an individual convicted of spying for the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic.

He was commenting on Stockholm’s earlier supportive remarks concerning Koorosh Keivani, an agent of the Israeli spy agency Mossad, who had sent photos and videos of important security locations from inside Iran to the regime, and was executed earlier this month after completion of due legal procedures.

Keivani was arrested by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Intelligence Organization last June, when the regime and the United States waged a 12-day unprovoked war against Iran.

He had been recruited in Sweden in 2023 by a Mossad agent going by the name of “Ben,” who could speak Farsi.

News about his execution emerged amid the Zionist regime’s and the United States’ latest bout of unlawful aggression towards the Islamic Republic.

The aggression has prompted at least 63 waves of decisive retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic Israeli and American targets throughout the region.

It has also led to considerable increase in alertness among the Islamic Republic’s intelligence apparatuses regarding espionage and sabotage efforts, besides prompting unprecedented popular contribution to the apparatuses’ operations aimed at foiling subversive attempts.