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A recently declassified U.S. military mission report details an incident in which an American operator observed two Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) over Iran on November 2, 2020, according to records released by the Department of War.
Document Details Two UAP Sightings Over Iran
According to Department of War records released under the PURSUE archive, the document, titled “DOW-UAP-D64, Mission Report, Iran, November 2020,” is a standardized Mission Report (MISREP) form used by the U.S. military to record operational circumstances. The Department of War notes that military services often use MISREPs to report UAP to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
The report states that a U.S. military operator reported observing two UAP on November 2, 2020. The first observation occurred at 2143Z at an unknown altitude. The second observation occurred at 2148Z, with the reporter describing the second UAP’s direction of travel as proceeding to the northwest. The document’s official summary emphasizes that all descriptive and estimative language reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event and “should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.”
The declassified mission report originates from the 482nd Attack Squadron (482 ATKS) and was submitted to the 609th Air Operations Center under U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM). The document was declassified on March 16, 2026, by Major General Richard A. Harrison, USCENTCOM Chief of Staff. The record indicates the mission involved supporting NAVCENT for operations in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman, with a total mission time of 20 hours and 42 minutes. The document also notes that Full Motion Video (FMV) from the mission was exploited by the Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review (DOSI).
Historical Context and Future Releases
The 2020 incident adds to a documented history of UAP encounters in the region. Wikipedia’s entry on the “1976 Tehran UFO incident” notes that on September 19, 1976, a radar and visual sighting of a UFO occurred over Tehran, Iran, involving civilians and military personnel. According to the Wikipedia summary, two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II jet interceptors reported losing instrumentation and communications as they approached the object, with functions restored upon withdrawal. One aircraft also reported a temporary weapons systems failure while the crew was preparing to open fire.
The Department of War’s PURSUE archive released this document on May 8, 2026. The record’s official summary offers limited detail beyond the two observations and the operator’s description of the second object’s northwest trajectory. The document does not provide specific information about the size, shape, color, or speed of the UAP, nor does it indicate whether any other sensor data corroborated the visual sightings.
As the PURSUE archive continues to release declassified records, readers should watch for future documents that may provide additional sensor data, multiple-witness accounts, or analysis from AARO regarding this and other incidents. The gap between the 1976 and 2020 sightings over Iran remains a notable point for those tracking the history of UAP encounters in the region.
