This is a rare shot of the Iranian F-14s kept at Esfehan Air Base and the shot taken by dutch tourists couple of weeks ago. It shows there are operational F-14s available with the Iranian AF. It's believed that Iran has 44 operational F-14s at hand

How did the Dutch tourists got in the base? But good to know that they still using F-14.

My question is why are there Dutch Tourist going to Iran. That's like me going to North Korea for vacation.

Okay, we now see those birds, are they air worthy or are they there for pictures? Also, if those birds are air worthy they are so far behind in terms of tech that they'd be blasted out of the sky. Lastly, we now know where some of them are and can hit them with a 1000 lbs LGB or JDM Bomb.

Originally Posted by Fox

How did the Dutch tourists got in the base? But good to know that they still using F-14.

The caption quite clearly says it is a "civilian platform" meaning someplace off-base, probably elevated, from which a person has a clear line on sight onto the base. Now personally this picture does nothing to convince me that the aircraft are operational, for one thing the aircraft are not moving, they obviously aren't in the most secure location (which you would expect their most advanced aircraft to be hidden in a safe location), and it would be in the best interest of the Iranian Air Force to keep their existance a secret since if they are working they would be the most useful piece of equipment in the Iranian arsenal should the US attack.

Originally Posted by 5.56X45mm

My question is why are there Dutch Tourist going to Iran. That's like me going to North Korea for vacation.

Okay, we now see those birds, are they air worthy or are they there for pictures? Also, if those birds are air worthy they are so far behind in terms of tech that they'd be blasted out of the sky. Lastly, we now know where some of them are and can hit them with a 1000 lbs LGB or JDM Bomb.

It's absurd to think that Iran is like North Korea or like Iraq of pre-liberation era.