File 036 · 19 September 1976
Tehran intercept
Tehran, Iran
Opened 9/4/2026
Ledger illustration of the file — not a photograph of the object. Ledger illustration of the report. A desert city at night, seen from the air. — Night Ledger illustration of the file
Standing
Unidentified
On the public record, and still open. A claim, paper, or film — not a finding that it was ours, and not a finding that it was not.
What was claimed
Iranian F-4s scrambled after a brilliant object over the city. Avionics and weapons failed on approach. A Defense Intelligence report called the case outstanding.
What is on the record
This file is a working record — a report, not a verdict. Official paper, if any, is linked where we have it.
After midnight, civilians flooded the control tower with calls about a bright object over Tehran. An F-4 of the Imperial Iranian Air Force was scrambled from Shahrokhi; at about 25 nautical miles from the object its communications failed, and it returned. A second F-4 got a radar lock. As it closed, a smaller object detached. The pilot armed a missile; his weapons panel and radio went dead. He broke off. The systems returned. The object was also seen from the ground and, the report says, from a civil airliner.
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency circulated a four-page evaluation, now public, rating the reliability high and the case “a classic that meets all the criteria for a valid study of the UFO phenomenon.”
Radar, multiple aircraft, ground witnesses, and a declassified DIA document: Tehran is the strongest military intercept file of the 1970s.
Could this have been ours?
The known sky, that night.
Satellites were already up. The station was not. Starlink was not.
Always
Venus and the bright planets
A fixed brilliant point. Does not streak. Does not hover over a street then leave. Often the first misread light in a rural report.
Always
Aircraft, balloons, meteors
Landing lights, flares, lanterns, reentries, fireballs. They are on the known sky. They do not close a file by themselves — they are what a serious look has to hold the claim against.
Orbit · Space — the desks for lights that are already named.
Sources
Related files
Same craft, same place, same years. A neighbor in the catalogue — not a conclusion.
Same place · Same year · September 19, 1976
Tehran UFO Incident
Tehran · Iran
Unidentified
Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom jets intercepted a large bright UFO over Tehran. The object emitted smaller objects and interfered with aircraft electronics and communications. Radar-visual confirmation from multiple sources including ground control.
Same place · Same year · September 19, 1976, ~12:30–1:40 a.m.
Tehran UFO Dogfight
Tehran · Iran
Unidentified
Multiple Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom pilots and ground radar tracked a large bright object and a smaller detached craft. Both aircraft experienced total electrical and communications failure when approaching, with weapons systems locking out. A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report described it as a high-credibility unexplained event.
Same craft · Same country · 26 August 2022
Formation over water, 26 August 2022
Off the Iranian coast · Iran
Unidentified
Official U.S. government infrared from 26 August 2022 shows a formation of objects over water.
Same craft · Same years · December 30-31, 1978
Kaikoura Lights Radar-Visual Encounter
Kaikoura, South Island · New Zealand
Unidentified
Aircrew, passengers, and air traffic controllers observed and filmed bright lights maneuvering near an aircraft; confirmed by Wellington radar and RNZAF investigation.
Same craft · Same years · 21–31 December 1978
Kaikoura lights, New Zealand
Kaikoura, South Island · New Zealand
Unidentified
A TV crew on an Argosy freighter filmed lights off Kaikoura. Radar, pilots, and Wellington air traffic were all in the loop.
Same craft · Same years · 20 September 1977
Petrozavodsk phenomenon
Petrozavodsk, Karelia · Russia
Identified
A glowing object that showered the city with luminous “jets” was seen across northwest Russia and Finland. TASS printed it as news.