Two die as Iranian fighter jet crashes

An Iranian fighter plane has crashed near an air base in the city of Isfahan in central Iran, killing the two pilots on board, the air force said.

The US-made F-14 Tomcat was on a routine training mission when it crashed as it was returning to land at the air base.

Iran’s air force was made up almost exclusively of American-made aircraft before the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The US banned arms sales to Iran after the revolution, forcing the Iranians to turn to Russia for the bulk of their arms purchases.