Action of June 5, 1984

The Action of June 5, 1984 was an air battle which took place near Arabi Island in the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms from Bushehr Air Base, entered Saudi airspace to attack merchant shipping (oil tankers). The planes were tracked by a United States Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, which directed two 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 and 2 F-14s from Bushehr. In response, the Royal Saudi Air Force scrambled 11 additional F-15s. Nevertheless, both sides broke off the engagement.

Action of June 5, 1984
Part of Iran–Iraq War, Tanker War
Date June 5, 1984 Location Arabi Island, Persian Gulf Result Saudi Arabian victory
Belligerents
Saudi Arabia	Iran
Strength
13 F-15 Eagle 1 E-3 Sentry	13 F-4 Phantom 2 F-14 Tomcat
Casualties and losses
None	2 F-4 Phantoms lost