WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a dramatic escalation of the war that began nearly five weeks ago, Iran brought down two U.S. military planes in separate attacks on April 3, with one service member rescued and at least one missing.
This happened just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran, and they were “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”
One fighter jet was brought down in Iran, officials said. One U.S. crew member was rescued, but another was missing, and the U.S. military had started a search-and-rescue mission. Iranian forces were also searching for the missing U.S. pilot, increasing pressure on Washington.
Neither the White House nor the Pentagon shared details about the incident. In a short phone interview, Donald Trump refused to talk about the rescue efforts but said the situation would not affect talks with Iran.
Separately, Iranian state media reported that a U.S. A-10 aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being hit by Iranian forces. However, a U.S. official said it was still unclear whether the plane crashed on its own or was shot down, and it was not known where it went down or what happened to the crew.
Iranian media also claimed that the aircraft was a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle, a fighter jet with both a pilot and a weapons officer.
During the war, Iran has often claimed to shoot down enemy aircraft, but many of those claims were not true. This was the first time it publicly asked people to help find a downed pilot.
The possibility that a U.S. service member is still alive and hiding in Iran comes just days after Trump threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages.” The conflict has little public support in the U.S. and could cause serious long-term harm to the global economy.
These events happened as Iran carried out attacks across the Middle East on April 3, continuing to pressure Israel and nearby Gulf countries, despite claims from the U.S. and Israel that Iran’s military power has mostly been destroyed.
Before news of the rescue came out, videos on social media showed U.S. drones, planes, and helicopters flying over a mountainous area where Iranian TV said at least one pilot had ejected. A TV anchor asked locals to report or hand over any “enemy pilot” to the police and offered a reward.
Alan Diehl, a former U.S. Air Force investigator, said this type of jet has an emergency beacon in its survival kit that can automatically or manually transmit its location.
Iran’s attacks on energy facilities in Gulf countries and its control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world’s oil and gas passes, have shaken stock markets, pushed oil prices higher, and may increase the cost of everyday goods like food.
