U.S. Jet Shot Down Over Iran; One Crew Member Rescued
A search-and-rescue operation is underway for the remaining crew members from a U.S. fighter jet shot down over Iran on Friday. American forces rescued one crew member from the F-15E fighter jet, who is now safe and receiving medical care.
ON THE GROUND: Iranian authorities are also searching for the missing American, reportedly offering civilians a reward of about $60,000 for information. If found, holding a U.S. service member hostage would be seen as leverage in negotiations to end the war.
President Trump told NBC News on Friday that the downing of the U.S. fighter jet will not impact U.S. negotiations with Iran.
THE LATEST: Later Friday, Iran said it shot down a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft in a separate incident, though the lone pilot went down outside Iranian borders, and was safely rescued.
The development complicates President Trump’s claim in his prime-time address on Wednesday that Iran has “no antiaircraft equipment. Their radar is 100 percent annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.” He has also claimed that U.S. aircraft are “roaming” Iranian skies unimpeded.
A FIRST FOR THE WAR
The downing of the F-15E fighter jet, which has two seats for a pilot and a weapons systems officer, marks the first time Iran has downed a U.S. warplane since the U.S. and Israel began strikes against the regime over a month ago. The US and Israel have conducted 20,000 missions over Iran over the last month. It was reportedly downed by antiaircraft fire by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
RESCUE EFFORTS: Verified photos and videos show at least one U.S. C-130 aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters flying low over central and southwest Iran as part of a search and rescue effort to locate and recover the missing crew member.
U.S. fighter pilots sometimes wear GPS tracker devices, such as watches, although it is unclear if these devices are wore by Americans deployed in the war in Iran.
BIGGER PICTURE: So far, at least 13 U.S. military service members have been killed in the conflict in Iran and nearly 370 have been wounded, according to the U.S. Central Command.
While the latest incident is a setback militarily and could worsen public sentiment toward the war, the U.S. has largely maintained an aggressive and effective campaign with limited American impact. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine said this week that U.S. forces had already struck more than 11,000 targets inside Iran.
ZOOMING OUT
The U.S. continues to claim dominance over Iran’s airspace. The U.S. military’s “firepower is only increasing,” while Iran’s is “decreasing,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during his most recent press briefing on Tuesday.
Hegseth noted during the briefing that Iran was firing a record low number of drones and missiles since the war began. CNN reports that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers are still standing.
WHAT ELSE TO KNOW
The war continues to impact countries not just across the Middle East, but the entire world. Governments worldwide are working to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid oil and gas shortages straining the global economy.
📌 Trump warned Thursday that he “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran” after the U.S. and Israel struck the newly opened B-1 bridge in Iran, with Iranian media reporting civilian casualties.
The strike marked the first U.S. attack on major civilian infrastructure in Iran since the war began. It came after Trump vowed to bomb Iran “back to stone ages” during a primetime address Wednesday.
📌 Trump said on Truth Social Friday that the U.S. “can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.” He continued to pressure allies to step in and help reopen the waterway, which carries a fifth of the world’s oil.
Several vessels, beginning with a French-owned container ship, passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. The French ship marks the first time a Western European vessel has passed through the waterway since the war in Iran began.
📌 Iran launched a campaign last week to lower its fighting age to 12 years old, according to the nonprofit Human Rights Watch.
The Iranian Red Crescent said Friday that at least 1,900 people have been killed and 20,000 injured in Iran in the U.S.-Israeli strikes so far. The count does not distinguish between civilians and Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps militants.
At least 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, and 19 have died in Israel, since the war began, according to the countries’ respective governments.