Donald Trump Announces Daring Rescue of Second F-15E Crew Member From Iranian Territory

U.S. President Donald Trump announced early Sunday that American special forces had rescued the second crew member of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran, calling the operation one of the most daring search and rescue missions in U.S. military history. The rescued officer, a colonel serving as a weapons systems officer, sustained injuries but is expected to recover fully, Trump said. The airman had been missing since Friday, April 3, when Iranian air defenses brought down the jet over the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. Trump posted the announcement on Truth Social in his characteristic all-capitals style: "WE HAVE HIM." The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the operation's details.

„This brave warrior was in enemy territory, in the dangerous mountains of Iran, pursued by our enemies” — Donald Trump via Truth Social

The U.S.-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, 2026, with joint strikes that killed then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei along with several other senior Iranian military and political leaders. The conflict has since escalated into a regional war, with Iran retaliating against Gulf countries hosting U.S. military and commercial assets. According to Al Jazeera, at least 2,076 people have been killed and 26,500 injured in Iran since the conflict began. The downed F-15E was the first U.S. aircraft to crash on Iranian territory since the war began, and the first since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. CNN has counted at least seven U.S. crewed military aircraft destroyed in the conflict so far.

Navy SEALs fought deep inside Iranian territory to reach him The rescue operation mobilized dozens of aircraft and reportedly around one hundred members of special forces, including U.S. Navy SEALs who advanced deep into Iranian territory, according to the New York Times. Trump confirmed that the first crew member had been rescued on Saturday, April 4, but that the U.S. had deliberately withheld that news to avoid compromising the second operation. The second airman had hidden in a mountain hollow after ejecting from the aircraft, armed only with a pistol, while U.S. forces tracked his location continuously, according to Courrier International citing U.S. reports. A video circulating online, reported by the Daily Mail, allegedly showed a firefight between U.S. and Iranian forces near the settlement of Dehdasht. Al Jazeera cited a U.S. official describing a "fierce firefight" during the mission. According to the New York Times, two transport planes became stranded inside Iran during the operation, and three replacement aircraft were deployed to recover the soldiers and the rescued colonel, with the two abandoned planes reportedly destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands. The rescued colonel was subsequently flown to Kuwait for medical treatment.

Iran claims it downed several US aircraft during the rescue Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps disputed the U.S. account of the operation, claiming through the Tasnim news agency that its forces destroyed several American aircraft during what it described as a failed mission, including a C-130 military transport plane and two Black Hawk helicopters. Iranian media had also reported that authorities offered bounties of up to 100,000 U.S. dollars for the capture of the American airman — a sum that, according to the Tages Anzeiger, represents in extreme cases one thousand times the monthly average income in the affected provinces. Iranian media broadcast images showing lines of cars in the region where the F-15E was shot down, and residents pointed smartphones at the sky during the operation. The CIA reportedly launched a disinformation campaign before the rescue, spreading rumors in Iran that U.S. forces had already located the airman and were attempting to extract him overland, according to Axios citing an anonymous Trump administration official. The U.S. military stated that no American casualties occurred during the rescue mission, a claim Iran did not confirm. The Associated Press noted it could not independently verify Iranian claims about the Black Hawk helicopters.

Key events: F-15E shootdown and rescue: — ; — ; —

Trump's 48-hour deadline raises stakes for Iran's energy sector The rescue unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying diplomatic and military pressure on Tehran. Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday morning that Iran had 48 hours to "make a deal" or open the Strait of Hormuz before, in his words, "all Hell will reign down on them" — a deadline set to expire at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday, April 6. A senior Israeli defense official said Israel was preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities within the next week, pending U.S. approval, according to the Irish Examiner. Iran, for its part, warned that "the entire region will become a hell" for the U.S. and Israel if attacks escalated, Iranian media reported. Pakistan has been seeking to broker peace talks between Washington and Tehran, but prospects for negotiations appeared slim, with polls showing low U.S. public support for the war. Analysts cited by Al Jazeera noted that the successful rescue frees Trump to pursue a more aggressive strategy, since the capture of an American serviceman would have handed Tehran a significant bargaining chip and potentially eroded domestic support for the conflict.