Shortly after the attack on the convoy carrying Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad Airport in Iraq, the neighboring country Iran immediately put F-14 Tomcat fighters in the air, in an alert and patrol operation.
The attack on Soleimani, general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and his entourage, was carried out by a US MQ-9 Reaper drone, which launched three missiles.
The emergency flight of the F-14 fighters was to prevent the country from suffering any unexpected attack from the United States. This is the best fighter available in the Iranian Air Force's inventory, with greater weapons carrying capacity, fully digital and modernized cockpit and compatible with the new Fakour 90 missiles, which serve to attack flying objects.
In all Iran has about 36 F-14 Tomcat fighters, modernized. However, it is not possible to know the number of aircraft fully active and prepared to take on missions.
Apart from these Tomcat units, the local air force still has a French-made Mirage F1 and some units of the F-4 Phantom, also made in the United States.
Iran has vowed to strike back with "fury and force", but so far the country has not shown any attitude of attacking American citizens or US military bases in the Middle East.
