A military training aircraft crashed in Iran's southern Fars province on December 4 afternoon, killing both pilots aboard, the Ministry of Defence confirmed, state news reported.

The aircraft went down in mountainous terrain between Firouzabad and Qir counties during a test flight following maintenance work, according to state media. The incident occurred around 2:45 p.m. local time.

Colonel Hamidreza Ranjbar and Colonel Manouchehr Pirzadeh, the two pilots aboard, were killed in the crash.

Their bodies were recovered after emergency services from both districts responded to the scene, officials said.

The aircraft belonged to Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics and was conducting a routine test flight after undergoing maintenance when the incident occurred.

Emergency response teams, including firefighters from both Firouzabad and Qir districts, were immediately dispatched to the crash site.

Following recovery operations, the remains of the two pilots were transferred to the provincial capital.

Authorities have not yet commented on the cause of the crash, which is likely to be subject to an investigation.

Video of the crash site in the remote area was published in Fars News Agency, showing smoke and little left of the training jet.

The incident is the latest incident faced by Iran's military aviation sector, which has struggled with maintenance and modernization due to long-standing international sanctions.

Earlier this year, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian died in a helicopter crash close to the Azerbaijan border. That crash was blamed on poor visibility.