US rescues downed fighter pilot from Iran in 'daring' operation
The US announced it had rescued a downed fighter pilot from Iran in a "daring" operation, while Iranian media reported five people killed during the mission.
On Friday, the Iranian military shot down an F-15 jet, prompting both the US and Iranian forces to launch a search for the crew.
It was the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the US-Israeli war on 28 February.
The exact location where the aircraft went down has not been independently confirmed, but Iranian state media and officials have indicated it may have occurred in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer‑Ahmad or Khuzestan, a key hub for oil, provinces in southwestern Iran.
Two US transport planes malfunctioned during the rescue mission over Iran and were ordered destroyed to prevent them from being seized, according to The New York Times.
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US officials said the US military undertook a high-risk, multi-stage operation deep inside Iranian territory to recover both crew members of the downed F‑15, a mission that involved special operations forces and extensive air support.
President Donald Trump confirmed the rescue of the second crew member from the F-15E fighter jet, saying, “WE GOT HIM! … SAFE and SOUND!”
He added the officer, a colonel, “sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” and said the mission involved “dozens of aircraft”.
Trump said “dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World” were deployed for the mission and claimed it was carried out “without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded,” citing what he called “overwhelming Air Dominance”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it destroyed a US aircraft that was tracking the crew of the downed fighter jet in southern Isfahan, Tasnim news agency reported.
The statement said the “enemy bird” was targeted by Iranian forces, though no further details were immediately provided.
Ceasefire rejected
Iran said it had rejected a US proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire between both sides, the Fars News Agency said on Friday, citing an unnamed official source.
It's unclear whether Israel would also have been part of that agreement.
Fars' source said the US proposal was made on Wednesday through a third country that was not named.
Earlier this week, Trump said Iran was the country asking for a ceasefire. Iran has denied that claim.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Pakistan's efforts to mediate a ceasefire have hit a dead end after Tehran insisted it was unwilling to meet US officials in Islamabad, given what they called unacceptable American demands.
For its part, Iran wants a US withdrawal from all its Middle Eastern bases, and compensation for the destruction that has been wrought on schools, hospitals and other integral infrastructure.
Turkey, Egypt and Qatar are all reportedly trying to forge a mediation effort, given their strong ties to the Trump administration.
The WSJ also reported that Qatar is resisting pressure to become a mediator in any potential ceasefire talks. The newspaper said that the US and regional countries were leaning on Doha to play that role, but it has so far refused.
Iran has probably planned for a drawn-out conflict.
More than a month into the joint US-Israeli war on the country, the Iranian military is still in possession of about half of its missile launchers and half of its Kamikaze drones, a US intelligence assessment said, first reported by CNN on Thursday.
The assessment flies in the face of the language of obliteration that Trump and the Israeli government have often used to describe Iran's capabilities, from the opening days of the war until as recently as Wednesday.
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