CAIRO/WASHINGTON: US special forces rescued an airman in a high-risk mission deep inside Iran while President Donald Trump threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz for oil flows vital to the world economy.
Trump announced the rescue in the early hours of Sunday in a social media post that described the operation in a mountainous area as “one of the most daring” such missions in US history.
The airman, the weapons officer of an F-15 jet shot down on Friday, was wounded but “will be just fine,” Trump said in a message on X. The pilot was rescued on Friday.
“WE GOT HIM! 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, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
“This is the first time in military memory that two US Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! 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.”
Hostage crisis averted
With the impact from the Strait’s closure on the global economy deepening by the day, the rescue of the US airman removed the risk for Trump of a hostage crisis further souring the mood of an American public already skeptical of the war.
A US official said the operation, which Israel said it had assisted, involved dozens of military aircraft and encountered fierce resistance from Iranian forces.
Iran said several US aircraft were destroyed during the operation, including two military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters. Footage posted on social media showed burned-out aircraft wreckage, which Reuters verified was in the area.
The loss of the F-15 last week — as well as an A-10 ground-attack aircraft in a separate incident — underlined the risks still facing US and Israeli aircrew despite Trump’s assertions of total control in the skies over Iran.
A senior administration official in Washington said the rescue had involved a CIA deception campaign spreading word inside Iran that US forces had already found the missing airman and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country.
While the Iranians were confused and uncertain of what was happening, the missing weapons officer was located inside a mountain crevice and rescued, the official said in a statement.
Iran: US airman rescue operation ‘completely foiled’
Iran’s military said on Sunday that the US operation to rescue an airman from a downed American fighter jet had been “completely foiled”, without suggesting he had been captured.
“The so-called US military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled,” said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military's central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya.
He added that Trump went ahead with “empty rhetoric and diversion although the reality on the ground demonstrates the superior position of Iran's powerful armed forces.”
Mixed messages
Trump has sent mixed messages ranging from hints of diplomatic progress to threats to bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages” since the US and Iran launched the war on Iran on February 28.
Trump, who has previously threatened to hit Iranian power plants if his demands were not met, told Tehran his latest deadline for a deal to end the war was fast approaching.
“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them. Glory be to GOD!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The war has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatens lasting damage to the world economy after Iran virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
