In 2013, I sent my first FOIA request for any information and documents pertaining to to the 1976 Tehran UFO incident. This event remains one of the most well-documented and fascinating UFO encounters ever reported by military pilots and witnesses. After receiving a response to my request, I wrote the following article to give everyone an idea of just exactly what I was able to pull from the documents I received, and testimony from several witnesses, including Major Parviz Jafari of the Iranian Air Force. I hope this will give you some insight into this deeply dramatic event.
Lt. Parviz Jafar
Suddenly, a smaller object detached from the original, and began a quick advance towards Jafari’s F-4. Defense-mode kicked in as he believed this was an attack. Jafari attempted to launch an AIM-9 sidewinder missile at the object, but just like before, his instruments malfunctioned. All weapon and communication capabilities were lost. Jafari would later state that he even tried to 
eject from the aircraft at this point, but even that had malfunctioned. He quickly turned the F-4 and made a negative G dive. The smaller object dropped behind him and followed him for a moment, making it clear that it was now in control. Jafari nervously tried to outmaneuver the object to no avail. After a few nautical miles of cat and mouse, the smaller object would eventually break off and reunite with the larger object.
Jafari, having absolutely no idea what he was dealing with, retreated to assess the situation. The further he distanced himself from the object, his instruments and communications returned. He would relay that another object was soon detaching from the original. It made a rapid descent towards the ground. Jafari believed that at that speed, whatever it was would explode upon impact, but stated that whatever it was, it gently landed on a bed of rocks as Jafari severely decreased his altitude to personally witness this. Whatever it was, it landed near Rey Oil Refinery just on the outskirts of Iran, in the city of Mehrabad. Civilian airliners in the area also reported instrument failure in the same area where the object had landed.
Artist rendering, Andy Wu, 吳國悅
Jafari, making one last attempt to investigate this extremely terrifying and extraordinary encounter, witnessed one more object, cylindrical in shape, buzzing in the area. Mehrabad International Airport was notified, and responded saying that they had no aircraft in flight at the time. However, flight tower personnel were able to corroborate Jafari’s sighting of this last object, stating that it even overflow the towers, all of their electrical equipment going down for a short period of time. Soon, this object made way back to the primary object, a large flash of light occurred, and it disappeared out of sight.
The following morning, the F-4 pilots went out, by helicopter, to gather any evidence of the smaller landed object. They determined that it has landed near a dry lake bed, but when they circled the area to survey, no visible evidence could be found. They did, however, receive a high amount of beeps from their helicopter meters, beeping most loudly as they approached a nearby house. They landed the helicopter and decided to question the residents to see if they had seen or experienced anything at the time of the incident. They didn’t have much to say, but did admit that a loud noise had occurred and bright light filled the area like a large burst of lightning. This would ultimately be the end of the investigation for Jafari and the other pilots, as they were specifically told to move on as if it had never occurred.
Jafari, 3rd in from the left in the middle row. 2007 National Press Club Event.
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