Direct proof of use
The F-4 Phantom II is directly documented in the 2014 War Against the Islamic State through late-2014 reporting on Iranian airstrikes in eastern Iraq. USNI News reported that U.S. defense officials believed Iranian aircraft had conducted strikes in Iraq and that Jane's Defence Weekly identified an aircraft in Al Jazeera footage as an Iranian F-4 Phantom II operating over Diyala province.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty separately reported that U.S. officials told Reuters on December 3, 2014 that Iranian F-4 Phantoms had struck Islamic State positions in eastern Diyala province in the preceding days. Al Jazeera's own report said the footage was filmed on November 24, 2014 as the aircraft struck ISIL targets in Diyala, while also recording Iran's denial that it conducted the raids.
Sources: USNI Iran Denies ISIS Airstrikes, RFE/RL Iran Denies F-4 Air Strikes, Al Jazeera Iran Denies Bombing ISIL
Timeline
The documented episode centers on late November 2014 in Iraq's Diyala province, especially around Saadiya and Jalawla after Iraqi, Kurdish, and militia forces fought to reverse Islamic State gains there. RFE/RL reported that Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite militias said Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani had helped them retake Jalawla and Saadiya on November 23, providing the ground-campaign context for the later F-4 reports.
On December 2 and 3, U.S. and regional reporting moved the episode from battlefield footage to official attribution and denial. The Washington Post quoted a senior U.S. defense official saying several Iranian aircraft had conducted airstrikes in Iraq, while Al Jazeera and RFE/RL recorded Iranian officials' denials and the Pentagon's statement that it had no indication the reports were untrue.
Sources: RFE/RL Iran Denies F-4 Air Strikes, Washington Post Iranian Jets Strike IS, Al Jazeera Iran Denies Bombing ISIL
Operational role
The Phantom's documented role in this conflict was strike employment against Islamic State targets in eastern Iraq, not transfer to Iraqi forces or use by the U.S.-led coalition. CBS News reported that the United States was aware of the Diyala strikes, that they supported Iraqi ground troops, and that there was no U.S.-Iran coordination because Iraq controlled the airspace.
The sources separate use from public acknowledgment. U.S. officials and defense analysts attributed the aircraft to Iran and identified the type as an F-4 Phantom II, but Iranian officials denied both the strikes and any cooperation with the United States. The available sources therefore support a sourced conflict-use claim for Iranian F-4s in Diyala while preserving the dispute over official Iranian acknowledgment.
The record does not support a wider sustained Phantom campaign against the Islamic State beyond the late-2014 Diyala episode. The Aviationist, citing aviation analyst Babak Taghvaee, described F-4E close-air-support sorties for Kurdish Peshmerga, Badr militia, and Iraqi special operations forces between November 23 and November 30, but the most broadly corroborated public evidence remains the video-identified aircraft and the U.S. official statements reported in early December 2014.
Sources: CBS Iran Using U.S.-Made Jets, Washington Post Iranian Jets Strike IS, The Aviationist IRIAF Strikes ISIS
