The United States has rescued an airman whose F-15 jet was downed in Iran, United States President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social on Sunday.
“WE GOT HIM!”, Trump's post on Truth Social read.
“My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!”
Trump stated that the airman was seriously injured, but he assured in his statement, "He will be just fine."
“This is the first time in military memory that two US Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!”
Trump later added in a separate Truth Social post that the Iranian military had been "looking hard, in big numbers" for the downed US Air Force service member and was "getting close" at the time of the rescue.
The search-and-rescue operation
The recused airman was the second member of a two-person crew of an F-15 that Iran said on Friday was brought down by its air defenses.
The Jerusalem Post reported on Friday that the first crew member had been recovered, and that search-and-rescue operations are underway to locate the others. Trump also confirmed the rescue of the first pilot in his Truth Social post on Sunday, and clarified that US officials chose to keep the rescue unconfirmed until now to avoid jeopardizing the second rescue mission.
In a report by Axios, US officials confirmed that a specialized commando unit, accompanied by heavy air support, successfully conducted a rescue operation in Iran. All US rescue forces have reportedly exited the country following the completion of the mission.
It was the ultimate "needle in a haystack" scenario, a US official told Fox News. "A courageous American hidden within a mountain crevice, undetectable by conventional means but revealed through CIA intelligence," he said. The official went on to describe the CIA's efforts in locating the downed airman, noting that the agency launched a campaign within Iran, spreading the word that US forces had already found him and were moving him overland for exfiltration.
The US special forces team was deployed on the ground in Iran on both Friday and Saturday as part of the search and rescue effort. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dispatched teams in an attempt to locate the missing airman. To thwart these efforts, US Air Force jets carried out strikes against Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the area, according to sources cited by Axios.
Two officials familiar with the operation told the New York Times that as US forces converged on the downed airman, a firefight erupted with Iranian forces.
An IDF source confirmed to the Post that Israeli forces provided intelligence and reportedly conducted strikes in support of the US operation.
Foreign reports have claimed that IDF special forces, including the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) and Shaldag, participated in the operation. However, an IDF source stated to the Post that these reports are "completely false."
A senior US military official told the NYT that the mission to rescue the airman was "one of the most challenging and complex in the history of US special operations."
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.