One crew member rescued by US special forces, second missing after first American fighter jet crashes inside Iran since war began; fresh strikes rock Tehran, Beirut, and Gulf states.
TEHRAN/WASHINGTON – Iranian and American forces are engaged in a high-stakes race across central Iran to locate a missing crew member of a U.S. F-15 fighter jet – the first American warplane to go down inside Iranian territory since the outbreak of the wider Middle East war more than a month ago.
Tehran claimed Saturday it shot down the aircraft using an advanced IRGC air defense system, while U.S. media reported that American special forces have already rescued one of the two crew members. The fate of the second remains unknown.
Adding to the urgency, an Iranian television reporter on a state-affiliated local channel announced that anyone who captures a crew member alive would “receive a valuable reward.”
‘Completely obliterated’
A spokesperson for Iran’s military central operational command said: “An American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s advanced air defence system. The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing.”
Iran’s military also claimed it downed a U.S. A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, though U.S. media said that pilot was also rescued.
The war erupted more than a month ago after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering waves of retaliation that have since convulsed the global economy and spread fighting across the Middle East.
Trump: ‘No, it’s war’
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the F-15 loss. When asked by NBC whether the downing would affect potential negotiations with Iran, Trump replied: “No, not at all. No, it’s war.”
Retired U.S. brigadier general Houston Cantwell, with 400 hours of combat flight experience, told AFP that a downed pilot’s training would prioritize concealment. “My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don’t want to be captured,” he said.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf mocked the Trump administration on X, writing: “After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'”
Fresh strikes across region
The search for the missing crew member unfolded amid renewed violence. Several blasts were heard in northern Tehran on Saturday, an AFP journalist reported. A U.S. strike west of the capital killed at least 13 civilians and wounded dozens, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
In Lebanon, the Israeli military said it has struck more than 3,500 targets since fighting with Hezbollah began. Two loud explosions rocked Beirut early Saturday, with smoke billowing from one site. Lebanon’s health ministry reports 1,345 killed and 4,040 wounded since the war’s start.
Energy sites under attack
Strikes have increasingly targeted economic infrastructure. A drone attack on a Kuwaiti oil refinery sparked fires Friday, while an Iranian strike damaged a power and desalination complex. Dubai authorities confirmed debris from an aerial interception fell on a building near the marina, though no injuries were reported.
Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz – through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes – since the war began. Former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote in Foreign Affairs that Tehran should offer nuclear curbs and reopen the waterway in exchange for sanctions relief to end the conflict.
