Iran says rescue operation 'foiled', destroyed several aircraft
WASHINGTON, Apr 5: President Donald Trump said Sunday that US forces had successfully rescued a second airman from Iran in what he described as one of the most daring search and rescue missions in US history, while Iran's military insisted the operation had been "completely foiled".
The conflicting claims came as tensions surged following a war that erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, a conflict that has since spread across the Middle East and shaken global markets.
Trump said on Truth Social that the airman had been recovered from "behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran" after being hunted by hostile forces. He added that the serviceman had sustained injuries but would recover.
"This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave pilot, yesterday," Trump said, noting the earlier mission had not been immediately disclosed to avoid jeopardizing the second extraction.
US media reported the rescued officer was a weapon systems officer from a downed F-15E fighter jet. He was said to have been equipped with a pistol, locator beacon and secure communications device to coordinate with rescuers.
According to reports, US forces initially planned to use aircraft stationed at a remote base inside Iran, but two of those planes were destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands. The extraction was ultimately completed using three transport aircraft.
Iran, however, sharply disputed the US account. The military's central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said the operation - which it described as a deception attempt conducted at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan province - had failed.
"The so-called US military rescue operation was completely foiled," spokesman EbrahimZolfaghari said in a statement carried by state television, accusing Washington of spreading "empty rhetoric and diversion".
Iranian officials said their forces had destroyed multiple US aircraft involved in the mission with varying accounts citing between three and four aircraft, including Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 transport planes. State media broadcast images purportedly showing charred wreckage scattered across a desert area, with smoke rising from the debris.
Tehran stopped short of saying it had captured the missing airman, and did not directly deny that US forces may have succeeded in extracting him.
Iran has also maintained that its forces shot down the fighter jet involved in the incident, although US officials have not publicly confirmed whether the aircraft was downed or lost due to other causes.
Iranian media reported that strikes during the rescue operation killed five people in the country's southwest, in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province. It was not immediately clear whether the casualties were civilians or military personnel. "AFP
