F-15 vs Shahed: US jet in hot pursuit to intercept Iranian drone fails, video goes viral

A video widely circulating on social media claims to show a US F-15 fighter jet chasing an Iranian drone over Iraq. Shared by accounts linked to Iran, the footage allegedly features Shahed-136 drones.

Posts on X accompanying the clip claimed that the American jet, valued at around $30 million, failed to intercept at least two relatively inexpensive Shahed-136 drones, estimated at about $20,000 each. One caption reads: “Iranian drone chased by a U.S. F-15, but the Shahed-136 drone evaded it. A $30,000 drone beat a $30 million jet.”

The video shows an aircraft circling two drones in what appears to be an attempt to neutralise them, followed by visuals of a large explosion.

The clip has surfaced amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, now in its second month. Iraq’s city of Erbil has recently witnessed multiple drone attacks, and on Wednesday, a British oil facility in the country was struck, triggering a massive fire and sending thick black smoke into the sky.

However, the authenticity and details of the video could not be independently verified.

Meanwhile, tensions in the region continue to escalate. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States would strike Iran “extremely hard” within the next two to three weeks, adding that the war was nearing completion. While he suggested the conflict could end within weeks, the parallel deployment of additional US troops to the Gulf has raised concerns about possible preparations for ground operations.

The US-Israel military campaign, referred to by Washington as “Operation Epic Fury,” began on February 28, 2026, reportedly killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with several senior officials.

Since then, Iran has carried out retaliatory attacks, further intensifying the conflict.