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US forces extract missing airman in high-risk Iran operation
The US military successfully retrieved a wounded F-15 crew member from a remote mountainous region inside Iran after a complex, multi-branch rescue mission involving special forces, warplanes, and intelligence assets. President Donald Trump confirmed the operation's success on Sunday, calling the airman "seriously wounded, and really brave."
Jet downed over southern Iran
The incident began on Friday when an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southern Iran, marking the first US fighter loss to enemy fire in over two decades. Both crew members ejected; the pilot was rescued the same day, but the weapons systems officer remained missing.
Iranian authorities offered a £50,000 ($66,100) bounty for the missing airman's capture and deployed armed civilians in the search, according to unverified social media videos. US officials said the stranded officer had only a handgun for defense and relied on survival training to evade detection.
CIA tracks airman's location amid Iranian pursuit
The CIA played a pivotal role in locating the airman, who hid in a mountain crevice and limited his beacon's signal to avoid Iranian detection. A senior Trump administration official told US media the agency monitored his position "24 hours a day" while coordinating with the Pentagon.
Trump described the airman as "being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour." The CIA also ran a deception campaign, spreading false reports that US forces had already recovered the missing officer.
Rescue mission deploys dozens of aircraft
Dozens of US aircraft, including armed warplanes and helicopters, were dispatched to extract the airman. Reports indicate bombs and gunfire were used to deter Iranian forces from the area. Two transport planes intended to evacuate rescue crews were destroyed after failing to take off from a remote Iranian base, forcing special forces to use backup aircraft.
Footage verified by BBC Verify showed smoldering wreckage in central Iran, approximately 50 km southeast of Isfahan. Iran's military claimed to have destroyed two US C-130 transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters during the operation, calling it a "completely foiled" mission. The US has not confirmed these losses.
Iran claims victory despite US success
Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a US drone over Isfahan during the search. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran's military, declared the rescue operation a "decisive and disgraceful defeat" for the US, accusing Trump of initiating a "war and aggression."
"The ignorant president, trapped in the swamp of the war and aggression that he himself started... fully realised that any aggression, ground operation, or infiltration... would face decisive and disgraceful defeat."
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, Iranian military spokesman
US analysts acknowledged the loss of aircraft but framed the mission as a necessary trade-off. Retired Admiral William Fallon told the BBC that darkness likely aided the operation, while Gen. Frank McKenzie, former US Central Command chief, emphasized the military's tradition of never leaving personnel behind: "It takes a year to build an aircraft-it takes 200 years to build a military tradition."
Airman evacuated to Kuwait for medical care
The rescue was completed before midnight US time, with the airman flown to Kuwait for treatment. Trump confirmed the officer was "seriously wounded" but expected to recover. US authorities have not released the airman's identity or exact location during the rescue.
Trump later posted on social media: "We will NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!"
