Iranian and American forces were racing each other early Saturday to recover the crew of the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.
Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane, while US media reported American special forces had rescued one of two crew members.
It was unclear which of the two crew members was recovered, and the US official who confirmed the recovery did not offer any details on how it took place.
Iran’s military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot was rescued.
A statement from Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al Anbiya central headquarters, said that the F-15 was shot down using Iran’s “new advanced defence system”, and that “an advanced hostile fighter jet was also targeted south of Qeshm Island, crashing into the waters between Qeshm and Hengam Islands”.
US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The president has been briefed.”
President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: “No, not at all. No, it’s war.”
The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that led to the assassination of then-supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.
‘Valuable reward’
A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s 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.”
An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would “receive a valuable reward”.
The US military has announced the loss of several aircraft during Iran operations, including one tanker that crashed in Iraq and three F-15s shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire.
