Washington, April 5, (dpa/GNA) – The second crew member of a US F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran is “seriously wounded” after he was rescued by the military in a high-stakes operation, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, as he again threatened to target Iranian power plants.
“We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran,” Trump said, after earlier describing the mission to retrieve the airman as “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”
A US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, the first US aircraft lost over the country since the start of the war on February 28.
The incident sparked major concern in Washington that Iranian forces might capture the two crew members, and use them as leverage in negotiations to end the fighting.
The pilot was rescued shortly after the aircraft crashed in southern Iran, with US special forces subsequently deployed to prevent the capture of the second crew member, a weapon systems officer.
Trump said the US military had used “dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him.”
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump said.
He said the officer “was never truly alone” as the military had been “monitoring his location 24 hours a day.”
In his follow-up post later on Sunday, Trump said the “Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close,” calling the wounded airman a “highly respected Colonel.”
The president announced a news conference at the White House on Monday.
According to the New York Times, the service member has been airlifted to Kuwait for treatment.
US special forces, including paratroopers, reportedly used a makeshift landing zone deep inside Iranian territory to get as close as possible to the missing service member.
After ejecting from the fighter jet, the weapons officer hid “on an elevated ridge after hiking away from the wreckage and putting out an emergency beacon,” Jennifer Griffin, chief national security correspondent for Fox News, wrote on X, citing unnamed senior US officials.
Two transport aircraft initially due to fly out the man and the special forces, got stuck in Iran, likely due to damage caused by the ground conditions at the improvised landing zone, according to a US military official cited by the New York Times.
This led to the deployment of three replacement aircraft to retrieve the troops. The two aircraft they left behind were destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iran’s hands, according to the official.
Following Trump’s announcement of the officer’s rescue, Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported the IRGC had struck and destroyed two US Black Hawk helicopters, a C-130 military transport aircraft and several drones on Sunday morning.
Tasnim published footage showing burning wreckage.
State-run English-language broadcaster PressTV claimed on X that a US operation at an abandoned airfield south of Isfahan had failed because Iranian forces had arrived in time.
Following the heavy bombardment of Iranian military infrastructure, the Trump administration has repeatedly suggested that US aircraft are no longer at risk of being attacked in Iranian airspace.
Announcing the second service member’s rescue on Sunday, Trump repeated that claim.
“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies,” he wrote.
Trump renewed his threat of a major assault against Iranian power stations on Saturday, if Tehran fails to agree to a peace deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
The US leader has repeatedly issued and delayed an ultimatum for the key waterway to be reopened, as Iranian threats to attack commercial shipping have disrupted global oil and gas deliveries and dealt a blow to markets.
Last week, he postponed the ultimatum until April 6, after claiming productive talks were being held with Iran.
In an expletive-laden post on Sunday, Trump said: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran …
“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” he continued.
However, Tehran has denied reports of talks, with severe attacks continuing across the Middle East on Sunday.
New impacts were reported in southern Israel on Sunday afternoon following fresh Iranian attacks.
Security forces have been deployed, Israeli police and the military said, while local media reported that an industrial area in the Negev desert was hit.
Only minor damage was reportedly caused by shrapnel and a shock wave.
Footage broadcast on Israeli television showed thick plumes of smoke over the area, which was reportedly targeted for the third time in the war.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued fresh threats against Iran. “As long as the rocket attacks on Israeli citizens continue, Iran will pay a painful price that will erode and bring down its national infrastructure,” Katz said in a video message released by his office in the early afternoon.
GNA