This handout photo provided by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly shows the wreckage of crashed aircraft in central Iran. AFP
A US official told Reuters the airman was the weapons systems officer on the downed F-15E Strike Eagle.
According to the New York Times, he was hiding with a pistol. He was retrieved in a Saturday night operation that involved hundreds of US troops, dozens of US warplanes and helicopters, and encountered fierce resistance from Iran. US attack aircraft reportedly dropped bombs and opened fire on Iranian convoys, per the report.
The officer was moved from a mountainous area to a transport aircraft inside Iran, according to Reuters.
Trump said the US military “sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons” to retrieve the crew, describing the operation as proof of “air dominance and superiority over the Iranian skies”, without addressing how Iran shot down the jet.
“This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies,” Trump wrote. “He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation.”
Iranian authorities had earlier offered a reward for anyone who turned in the “enemy pilot”.
At least five Iranians were killed in US-Israeli attacks in the “black mountain” area of Kohgiluyeh, south-west Iran, during rescue operations for the then missing US service member from the downed jet, per a local governor quoted by Tasnim news agency.
In a statement broadcast on state television on Sunday, Iran’s joint military command said it had shot down two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport aircraft in Isfahan, saying they were part of a failed US rescue attempt.
The broadcast showed still images of an aircraft and footage of smoke rising from what it said was a crash site, while the US forces claimed they had to destroy at least one of the aircraft because it had malfunctioned.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, mocked Trump in a post on X, writing, “If the United States gets three more victories like this, it will be utterly ruined,” and accompanying his remarks with an image purportedly showing a destroyed American aircraft as well as a long-distance shot of a column of dark smoke rising from a desert area.
🚨🇺🇸🇨🇳 Footage from Iran shows a temporary U.S. airstrip where two C-130s became stuck in the sand during an evacuation mission.
The aircraft were destroyed by U.S. forces, while additional planes were brought in to complete the extraction of personnel and recover all remaining… pic.twitter.com/O2RLcgDdMY
— Defence Index (@Defence_Index) April 5, 2026
The war began with joint US-Israel strikes on Tehran on 28 February. The US army and the Israeli occupation army have since killed thousands. Iran's retaliatory strikes against US assets in the Gulf and Tel Aviv, in addition to closing the Strait of Hormuz against “enemy ships,” have shaken global markets and spiked fuel prices.
Last week, Trump said that the US had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast.”
Two days later, Iran shot down two US military planes.
At least seven US aircraft lost
According to CNN count, the recent losses of a US Air Force F-15 and an A-10 in separate incidents bring the known toll of manned aircraft destroyed in the war with Iran to seven.
On 2 March, three F-15 fighter jets were downed by Kuwaiti air defenses in a “friendly fire” incident over Kuwait, and on 12 March, six US personnel were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq during operations.
On 27 March, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft was destroyed on the ground during an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. A US tanker aircraft was also damaged.
In addition, a US F-35 fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing after being struck by Iranian fire.
On Saturday, Iran's Fars news agency reported that “advanced modern” air defense systems used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Council (IRGC) shot down an MQ-1 drone over Isfahan.
Iran says its forces have downed over 160 enemy drones since the war started.
According to figures released by the Pentagon, 365 US service members have been wounded since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran, while 13 have been killed.
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