Two Imperial Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms were scrambled to intercept a brightly-lit unidentified object over Tehran. The jets experienced repeated equipment failures during the engagement, which was documented in a U.S. DIA memo (IIR 6 846 0139 76) routed across NSA, CIA, the White House, and the Joint Chiefs. During a routine night watch, the Imperial Iranian Air Force scrambled two F-4 Phantom interceptors to investigate a brilliantly lit object tracked over the capital by civilian and military personnel. As the jets approached to within 25 nautical miles of the target, they suffered severe electromagnetic interference, losing both UHF communications and primary flight instrumentation. The object deployed a smaller secondary craft that matched the trajectory of the F-4, prompting a pilot to attempt an AIM-9 missile launch, at which point the weapon control system suffered total electrical failure.