TEHRAN.

The deputy commander, General Yousefi, looked outside, saw the object, and ordered an F-4 Phantom II from Shahrokhi Air Force Base in Hamadan to investigate. The first F-4 closed to within 25 nautical miles when its instrumentation, communications and weapons systems failed simultaneously. The pilot broke off and the systems recovered as he turned back.

A second F-4, piloted by Lt. Parviz Jafari, was scrambled. As Jafari's aircraft closed on the unknown object, a smaller, second object detached from the primary and accelerated directly toward him. Jafari attempted to fire an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile but his weapons control panel and UHF radio went dead. He executed an evasive turn and the smaller object resumed station beside the primary. A third object dropped to the ground and emanated a bright light over the desert south of Tehran; the F-4's electronic systems again failed during proximity. Both F-4s eventually returned safely.

The encounter was witnessed by air traffic control radar operators, ground observers, and a commercial airline crew. A four-page memo prepared by Defense Attaché US Air Force Lt. Col. Olin Mooy was forwarded to the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the CIA, and the White House. The memo states the case "is a classic which meets all the criteria necessary for a valid study of the UFO phenomenon" and specifically notes that the events "as reported by several different people were of high reliability."

The Tehran case is one of the few US-government-archived foreign UFO files that uses such language. Lt. Jafari, who later rose to General rank in the Iranian Air Force, gave public testimony about the encounter at the National Press Club in Washington DC in 2007, organised by journalist Leslie Kean. He maintained his account in detail and stated his belief that the object was an intelligently controlled craft of unknown origin.