“Safe and sound”: second US pilot rescued in Iran
He is “safe and sound.” The second American pilot sought since Friday after his plane crashed in Iran has been rescued in a military operation, announced President Donald Trump on Sunday, April 5. The plane, an F-15E fighter-bomber, crashed in southwest Iran, and its two occupants were ejected in flight.
The Iranian army claimed to have shot down this aircraft, and authorities had promised a reward for the capture of the second occupant, the first being rescued shortly after in a US special forces operation.
“In the past few hours, the US military has undertaken one of the boldest search and rescue operations in US history to assist one of our incredible crew members, who also happens to be a highly respected colonel, and I am delighted to announce that he is now SAFE AND SOUND!” wrote the US president on his Truth Social network. He specified that the military personnel had been injured and that the rescue operation had involved “dozens of aircraft.”
Iranian army claims to have shot down three US aircraft
On the other hand, the Iranian news agency Tasnim, citing the Revolutionary Guards, stated that an American aircraft participating in the search operations had been “destroyed,” without further details. On Sunday, the joint armed forces command Khatam Al-Anbiya claimed that three US military aircraft involved in the soldier’s rescue had been shot down.
“Enemy aircraft penetrated into the South of Isfahan — including two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport plane — were struck and are now in flames,” he declared, adding that the American rescue operation had “failed.” State media broadcasted images of charred debris scattered in a desert area, still emitting smoke.
Tasnim news agency reported that strikes during the rescue operation had resulted in five deaths in southwest Iran, without specifying whether they were civilians or military personnel.
Iran continues to attack Gulf countries and Israel
Since the start of the war, no US soldier has been killed or captured on Iranian soil, but 13 have died in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. On the 37th day of the war against Iran launched by the US and Israel on February 28, Tehran once again attacked Sunday the Gulf countries and the Hebrew state.
Kuwait announced on Sunday that Iranian attacks on two power and water desalination plants, as well as on the capital’s ministerial complex, had caused extensive damage, with no casualties. Earlier, the Iranian military, in a message quoted by the Fars news agency, had threatened to target water and energy infrastructure in Israel and the Gulf countries after Israeli-American strikes on a petrochemical site in the special economic zone of Mahshahr, southwest Iran.
According to a senior Iranian official, these strikes against three factories in the sector killed five and injured 170 on Saturday. An alert was also triggered Sunday morning in Israel, where the military said it was facing a new barrage of Iranian missiles. Attacks were also reported by authorities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump maintains his ultimatum
Israel, for its part, continues its offensive against the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, where bombings and fighting have killed over 1,400 since early March.
US President Donald Trump reiterated on Saturday that his ultimatum, issued to Iran on March 26 to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes against its power plants, was still in effect.
“Remember when I gave Iran 10 days to CONCLUDE AN AGREEMENT or REOPEN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ. Time is running out – 48 hours before unleashing hell on them,” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
“The aggressive and bellicose American president, after suffering successive defeats, has begun, in an impotent, unstable, nervous, and stupid manner, to threaten the infrastructure and property of Iran,” said General Ali Abdollahi, chief of the Iranian armed forces command. “The gates of hell will open for you,” he threatened.
