The mission may mark the first deployment of U.S. troops to Iranian territory during the war; accounts of ground exchanges and aircraft destruction have yet to be fully independently verified.
The crew of a U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet that has been missing in Iran since Friday has been successfully rescued by a U.S. team. President of the United StatesDonald TrumpexistTruth SocialThe news was announced in a post on . According to the US leader, the operation was “one of the most daring search and rescue operations in American history”.
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According to relevant reports, this operation involved the entry of US troops into Iranian territory, and was first reported by media such as Axios, Fox News and Al Jazeera. As of now, some public details have not been independently confirmed.
Arab media outlet Al Jazeera cited an unnamed U.S. government official as saying the weapons systems officer was rescued after a “heavy exchange of fire.” Axios reporter Barak Ravid reported that the soldier was injured when ejecting, but still managed to survive and fled on foot for more than a day while avoiding pursuit by Iranian forces.
Iranian news agency close to Iran’s Revolutionary GuardsTasnimit was previously reported that an air strike occurred in the area where the missing soldier was suspected to be, further raising the tension in the entire operation.
According to Fox News, this planeF-15EBoth crew members successfully ejected after being hit in southwestern Iran on Friday night. The pilot was reportedly rescued earlier, while the second crew member remained hidden on the ground until found.
According to US sources, the soldier used SERE training to avoid capture. SERE is the English abbreviation of survival, evasion, resistance and escape, which means survival, evasion, resistance and escape. He allegedly left the crash site and sent out a distress call, which may have helped pinpoint his location.
The rescue operation reportedly mobilized special units from different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. Since the mission took place behind enemy lines, it was considered extremely complex. Fox News stated that there are currently no signs of death among U.S. military personnel involved in the operation.
Axios also reported that the CIA may have been involved in mission preparations through a deception operation. According to an unnamed U.S. official, intelligence agencies deliberately spread the word that the officer had been found and would be evacuated by land, while the real search continued with intelligence support. Once the precise location was confirmed, the information was reportedly reported to the Pentagon, the U.S. military and the White House, prompting Trump to approve an immediate rescue mission.
On the other hand, “The New York Times” reported that a critical moment occurred just before the end of the operation. According to the newspaper, two U.S. Air Force transport planes are reportedly stuck in a remote area of Iran. As a result, three more aircraft were used to evacuate all US military personnel, while those that could not be moved were destroyed on site to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
Fox News also claimed that Iranian security forces may suffer casualties during this special operation. However, so far, Tehran has not made official confirmation.
As a result, the mission is now viewed as one of the most sensitive events in the current war, not only because of the alleged entry of U.S. troops into Iranian territory, but also because of the significantly higher 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
Sources and images: The White House – X @WhiteHouse | US Central Command – X @CENTCOM. This article was completed with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
