One F-15 crew member was rescued and a search was underway for a second after a fighter jet went down over Iran, a U.S. official said Friday.
The two-seater aircraft appears to have been shot down by Iran, a U.S. official said, and the American military was scrambling to find the second aviator after a regional governor offered a bounty for its crew
The rescue mission follows hours of reporting by Iranian state media of a downed U.S. fighter jet. Iran’s media published photos alongside claims from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it had shot down the aircraft. The Pentagon and the White House did not immediately comment on the claims.
A regional governor in Iran’s southwest had issued a public plea for locals to find those on board the jet and promised a reward, according to official and semi-official Iranian news organizations; a representative of merchants and businesses was reportedly offering the equivalent of $60,000.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the incident — the latest dramatic development in the war, now more than a month old.
Trump has declared success and pressured Iran to agree to a deal to end the war, while massing new troops in the Middle East and threatening intense escalation if Tehran doesn’t reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz trade route.
It will also add to doubts over American-Israeli claims of dominance over Iran’s skies. The joint campaign has focused intensely on destroying and degrading Iran’s missile defenses, but Tehran has retained the capability to hit back across the region.
Iran has claimed previously to have struck American military planes, but the U.S. has not confirmed any such incidents during the war.
U.S. Central Command said an F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing March 19, but stopped short of confirming this was the result of an Iranian attack.
Kuwait accidentally shot down three U.S. fighter jets near the start of the war.
The rescue operation Friday followed a morning of reporting by Iranian media and military observers on social media.