An Iranian passenger plane flying over Syria went into a nose-dive after nearly colliding with two US fighter jets, Iran’s state news agency claimed today.

The official IRIB agency initially reported a single Israeli jet had flown near the plane but later quoted the pilot as saying there were two self-identified US jets.

The pilot of the civilian airliner contacted the jet pilots to warn them about keeping a safe distance and the jet pilots identified themselves as American, IRIB reported.

One passenger in the IRIB report described how his head hit the roof of the plane during the nose-dive and video showed an elderly passenger sprawled on the floor.

All of the passengers came off the plane and only some had minor injuries, the head of the Beirut airport said.