A missing U.S. service member who was shot down in Iran has been rescued following a risky mission deep behind enemy lines in mountainous terrain, Donald Trump has announced.
“WE GOT HIM!” the president posted on Truth Social shortly after midnight on Saturday. “My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”
The desperate race to find the F-15E Strike Eagle weapons system officer had been ongoing for nearly three days after the aircraft was shot down Friday while undertaking military operations in Iran. The pilot of the aircraft was successfully rescued Friday.
Iranian authorities had offered a bounty to anyone who handed over the missing airman alive, a state television anchor announced previously. White House officials had remained largely silent on the search.
In his Truth Social post, the president said that the “incredible” crew member, “who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel,” was now “SAFE and SOUND!”
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue,” the president wrote.
“At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him,” he added.
Trump said that the unnamed airman had sustained injuries during the crash but “will be just fine.”
The two members of the F-15 ejected from the cockpit Friday after Iran shot down the plane, marking the first U.S. aircraft lost to enemy fire since the start of the war.
The airman, armed only with a pistol while in hiding, was equipped with a beacon and a secure communication device for coordinating with forces mounting the rescue.
During Friday’s rescue to retrieve the pilot, fire from Iran struck a U.S. chopper and wounded crew members on board, though the helicopter was able to land safely, according to military officials. An A-10 Warthog that joined the mission also took fire. The Warthog’s pilot ejected over the Persian Gulf and was rescued, officials said.
Fox News reported that the weapons officer had hiked away from the wreckage and took cover in an elevated ridge to await rescue.
A senior U.S. military official described the mission to rescue the airman as one of the most challenging and complex in the history of U.S. special operations.
Finding the missing weapons officer had been the U.S. military’s highest priority over the last 48 hours, sources told The New York Times, with a senior official describing the mission as among the most challenging in U.S. military history. The search involved hundreds hundreds of troops, dozens of warplanes, helicopters and other intelligence networks.
Trump said that details of Friday’s rescue had not been shared previously “because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation.”
“This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!” he said.
“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies.”
At least 13 U.S. service members have been killed in the U.S.-Israel war in Iran. More than 300 service members have been injured.
Earlier on Satruday, Trump shared a video purporting to show a “massive strike” in Tehran. It was not immediately clear when the attack was carried out, though the president claimed that “many of Iran’s Military Leaders, who have led them poorly and unwisely, are terminated, along with much else.”
Iranian group Human Rights Activists News Agency recorded at least 272 attacks in 14 provinces on Saturday, with at least 184 people injured or killed, while
Saturday’s attacks bring civilian deaths to at least 1,616, according to the rally from the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
After the weapons officer’s rescue, two transport planes were stuck at a remote air base in Iran, according to The New York Times.
Three new planes were flown in to extract the rescue teams and the original two aircraft were blown up to ensure they did not fall into enemy hands, the newspaper reported.
Prior to Saturday night’s post, the president had not addressed the public about the search-and-rescue operation, and he last appeared publicly at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, after which he delivered a national address about the war.
In a brief Friday phone interview with The Independent, the president declined to say what his course of action might have been if Iranian forces had gotten to the downed airman first. The incident marked the first U.S. pilot shot down behind over enemy territory since 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Asked what he would do if the pilot were to be captured or harmed by Iranians, Trump told The Independent: “Well, I can't comment on it because — we hope that's not going to happen,” and ended the call shortly thereafter.
The president is staying at the White House through Easter weekend, rather than at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and did not have any public events scheduled, leading to speculation online about his absence, though the White House was quick to shut down rumors that it was for health-related reasons.
