The aircraft had reportedly been operating over the Middle East in support of ongoing military operations. NDTV reported.
The flight tracking data show the plane flew in a circular pattern in the air for a while, before it begun its descent for landing. The exact cause of the emergency remains unclear, and there has been no official confirmation linking the incident to hostile action.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported on the disappearance, citing data from Flightradar24. There has been no statement from Iran indicating its involvement in the US military plane's emergency.
US military has also not issued any statement on the status of the plane.
In March, the US military lost a KC-135 in an Iranian attack in western Iraq. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said it shot down the aircraft "in defence of our country's sovereignty and airspace," Reuters reported.
The KC-135 Stratotanker is a military aircraft powered by four turbofan engines mounted under swept wings and used mainly for aerial refuelling. The aircraft has a cargo deck above the refuelling system, allowing it to carry both passengers and equipment, and is used to transfer fuel to other aircraft mid-air. It has been part of the US Air Force's operations for more than 60 years.
