The mission may have marked the first deployment of American soldiers on Iranian soil during the war; reports of ground combat and destruction of aircraft have yet to receive full independent confirmation
The crew member of the US Air Force F-15E fighter jet, who had been missing in Iran since Friday, was rescued by US teams, according to President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social. According to the American leader, the operation was “one of the boldest search and rescue operations in the history of the United States”.
The operation, which reportedly involved US soldiers on Iranian soil, was first reported by media such as Axios, Fox News and Al Jazeera. So far, some of the details that have been made public have still not been independently confirmed.
According to the Arabic channel Al Jazeera, which quoted an unnamed US government official, the weapons system officer was taken out after a “fierce exchange of fire”. Axios journalist Barak Ravid reported that the soldier was injured during the launch but managed to survive and flee on foot for more than a day while avoiding capture by Iranian forces.
Iranian News Agency Tasnimwhich is close to the Revolutionary Guards, had already reported airstrikes in an area where the missing soldier was allegedly located, raising tensions around the operation.
According to Fox News, both crew members managed to F-15E to eject after the plane was hit in southwestern Iran on Friday night. The pilot is said to have been rescued earlier, while the other crew member remained hidden on the ground until he was located.
Reports from US sources indicate that the soldier used SERE training, which stands for survival, evasion, resistance and escape, to avoid being captured. He is said to have left the crash site and sent out an emergency signal, which may have contributed to him being found.
The rescue operation reportedly mobilized special forces from various branches of the US armed forces in a mission that was considered complex because it took place behind enemy lines. According to Fox News, there are no signs of deaths among the American soldiers who took part in the action.
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Axios also reported that the CIA may have participated in the preparation of the mission through a deception operation. According to an unnamed US official, the intelligence service deliberately spread information that the officer had already been found and would be taken out of the country by land, while the real search continued in parallel with intelligence support. Once the exact position was determined, the information was reportedly passed on to the Pentagon, the US Armed Forces and the White House, leading Trump to approve the immediate rescue mission.
On another front, The New York Times reported that a critical moment occurred shortly before the operation ended. According to the newspaper, two transport planes from the US Air Force were allegedly stuck on a remote field in Iran. As a result, three other aircraft were reportedly used to evacuate all US military personnel, while the immobilized aircraft were destroyed on site to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
Fox News also claimed that Iranian security forces may have been killed or wounded during the special operation. So far, however, there has been no official confirmation from Tehran.
As a result, the mission is now being treated as one of the most sensitive episodes in the ongoing war, both because of the alleged deployment of US forces on Iranian territory and the risk of direct military escalation between Washington and Tehran.
BIG: After evacuating the second crew member of the downed F-15E, the U.S. had to destroy two HC-130J Combat King II rescue aircraft and two helicopters that, for unknown reasons, were unable to leave Iran.
The aircraft were blown up on the ground to prevent them from falling… pic.twitter.com/McytCnmnq5
— Clash Report (@clashreport) April 5, 2026
Source and images: The White House – X @WhiteHouse | US Central Command – X @CENTCOM. This content was created with the help of KI and reviewed by the editors.
