The Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad took to X on Friday, April 17, to publicly ridicule what it called America’s “Expensive Failure” in the ongoing Iran war, claiming the United States has lost 45 aircraft worth a combined $1.878 billion since hostilities began.
The embassy’s graphic post directly responds to President Donald Trump’s recent claim on Truth Social that the US has “completely destroyed” Iran’s air force including a screenshot of Trump’s statement and presents a detailed breakdown of alleged American aerial losses over the 47 days since Trump launched military operations against Iran on February 28.
The Full Breakdown
According to the Iranian mission’s tally, the costliest single loss is one E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft an airborne warning and control platform valued at $700 million. The list also includes one MQ-4C Triton high-altitude maritime drone ($240 million); two MC-130J Commando II special operations transport aircraft ($114 million each, totalling $228 million); one F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter ($110 million); four F-15E Strike Eagles ($90 million each, totalling $360 million); 17 MQ-9 Reaper armed surveillance drones ($30 million each, totalling $510 million); eight KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuellers ($40 million each, totalling $320 million); one A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly known as the Warthog ($18.8 million); and four AH/MH-6 Little Bird helicopters ($4.5–7.5 million each, totalling $18–30 million).
On the A-10 loss, Iran had earlier claimed to have downed the aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz on April 3 during a combat search-and-rescue support mission. Reports, however, indicate the pilot ejected safely and was recovered.
Iran’s Digital War Room
The Hyderabad consulate’s post is part of a broader pattern. In recent days, Iranian embassies across the world have turned their social media handles into an active front in the information war pushing out a steady stream of memes, graphics, and videos targeting Trump, the US, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel.
This latest graphic deliberately places American military hardware alongside images of wreckage, a visual calculated to counter Trump’s victory claims and reframe the narrative around US losses rather than Iranian ones. Washington has not officially responded to the Iranian embassy’s figures.
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