Action of June 5, 1984

On June 5, 1984, an air battle took place near Arabi Island in the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms from Bushehr Air Base, had intruded into Saudi airspace setting up for an attack on oil tankers. The planes were tracked by a United States Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, which directed two patrolling Saudi F-15 Eagles to intercept the Iranians. The Saudis shot down 1 Iranian F-4 Phantom, killing 1st Lts Homayoun Hekmati & weapon systems officer Seyed Sirous Karimi while damaging the second F-4, which despite being damaged, was able to make an emergency landing at Kish Airport, but the aircraft could not be repaired and returned to service, thus it was written off. This caused the Iranians to scramble 11 additional F-4s from Bushehr. In response, the Royal Saudi Air Force scrambled 11 additional F-15s. Seeing this, the Iranians backed down, and subsequently the Saudis returned to base.[1][2][3]

Action of June 5, 1984
Part of Iran–Iraq War, Tanker War
DateJune 5, 1984
Location
Arabi Island, Persian Gulf
Result Saudi Arabian victory
Belligerents
 Saudi Arabia  Iran
Strength
Saudi Arabia 13 F-15 Eagle 13 F-4 Phantom
Casualties and losses
None 2 F-4 Phantoms lost
2 pilots killed

See also

References
  1. Smith, William E."Pushing the Saudis too far". Time, 18 June 1984. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.
  2. Halloran, Richard. "2 Iranian fighters reported downed by Saudi Air Force". The New York Times, 6 June 1984, p. 1. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.
  3. "Saudi F15 Fighters Down 2 Iranian Jets Over Persian Gulf". The Washington Post.
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