The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announces the downing of a U.S. aircraft involved in a search mission for pilots in Isfahan
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. military had successfully carried out one of the “most daring search-and-rescue operations” inside Iran, resulting in the rescue of both crew members of an F-15 fighter jet that had been shot down over Iranian territory. This confirmed earlier reports by U.S. officials following a complex operation that lasted several hours and coincided with parallel movements by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces in the country’s southwest.
اضافة اعلان
Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday that it had shot down a U.S. aircraft participating in search operations for pilots in Isfahan province.
According to three U.S. officials who spoke to Axios, American special forces rescued both crew members of the downed F-15 after a search-and-rescue mission that lasted for hours amid parallel movements by the IRGC.
Officials said the second crew member was rescued more than a day after the aircraft was downed, while Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces had also been attempting to locate the missing U.S. officer in southwestern Iran over the past 36 hours before U.S. forces succeeded in extracting him.
One official explained that the operation was carried out by a specialized commando unit with heavy air cover, noting that all participating U.S. forces exited Iranian territory after completing the mission.
According to two sources familiar with the operation, the pilot and the weapons systems officer were able to communicate using their onboard communication systems after ejecting from the aircraft.
The pilot was rescued just hours after the jet was shot down, while locating and rescuing the second crew member took more than a full day.
Officials noted that U.S. special forces were deployed on the ground inside Iran on Friday and Saturday as part of the search-and-rescue mission.
In field developments, the second crew member was located on Saturday, and the rescue operation began as Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were dispatched to the area in an attempt to prevent it.
Sources added that U.S. Air Force aircraft carried out strikes targeting Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the operation site.
President Donald Trump and senior members of his team monitored the operation from the White House Situation Room.
During the pilot rescue operation on Friday, Iran targeted a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter involved in the mission, injuring several crew members, though the aircraft managed to continue flying.
