Houssain Pirouzi

Houssain Pirouzi served as night supervisor at Mehrabad Airport control tower during the Tehran UFO incident of September 18-19, 1976. An experienced air traffic controller, Pirouzi received the initial civilian reports of a luminous object and subsequently observed it from the tower, monitoring events throughout the night.

Pirouzi was directly involved in the incident, witnessing the unidentified object both visually and via radar. He became the first airport official to observe the object through binoculars, and he watched as a smaller light pursued and interacted with the F-4 Phantom jet interceptor. During the chase, he temporarily lost communication with the jet pilot.

Pirouzi played a pivotal role in alerting authorities and coordinating the response. He was the first to alert the Air Force Command Post around 12:30 a.m., and he contacted Brigadier General Nader Yousefi, leading to the scrambling of jets. Throughout the encounter, he advised the pilots, including issuing instructions to return if the situation became dangerous.