TEHRAN: Iranian and American forces raced each other on Saturday (Apr 4) to recover a crew member of the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.
Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane, while US media reported that United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other still missing.
Iran’s military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot was rescued.
The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.
US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The president has been briefed.”
President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: “No, not at all. No, it’s war.”
“VALUABLE REWARD”
A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s central operational command said “an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s advanced air defence system”.
“The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing.”
An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would “receive a valuable reward”.
The US military has announced the loss of several aircraft during Iran operations, including a tanker that crashed in Iraq and three F-15s shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire.
Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot’s training would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.
“My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don’t want to be captured,” he told AFP.
Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, mocked the Trump administration.
He wrote on X: “After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’
“Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses.”