Downed planes spell peril for Trump as Iran hunts pilot
Officials from both sides said that Iranian forces were searching for the missing US pilot in one of the two warplanes shot down over Iran and the Gulf, and that both airmen were rescued.
The events show the risks still faced by U.S. and Israeli aircraft over Iran as the war enters its sixth week, despite claims by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that U.S. forces have full control of the skies.
The possibility of an American soldier alive and at large in Iran raises the stakes for Washington in a conflict that has low public support among Americans and no signs of an imminent end.
Officials in both countries said Iranian fire shot down a two-seat US F-15E jet, while two US officials said the pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter jet that crashed in Kuwait after being hit by Iranian fire.
US officials told Reuters that two Black Hawk helicopters searching for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but left Iranian airspace.
The extent of the crew’s injuries was unclear.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it was combing the southwestern region near where the pilot’s plane crashed, while the regional governor promised praise to anyone who captured or killed “forces of the hostile enemy.”
Iranians, who have been attacked by American air power since the United States and Israel began their attacks on February 28, celebrated the plane crashes.
Parliament Speaker Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf said that the war in X “has been reduced from regime change to pilot hunting.”
Trump was at the White House to get updates on the rescue effort, a senior administration official told Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Iran told mediators it was not ready to meet with U.S. officials in Islamabad in the coming days and that Pakistan’s efforts to broker a ceasefire were deadlocked.
The war has killed thousands of people, sparked an energy crisis and threatened to permanently damage the global economy since the initial attacks that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US Central Command announced that 13 US military members died and more than 300 were injured in the conflict.
Iran has rained down drones and missiles on Israel and targeted US-allied Gulf states, which have refrained from directly participating in the war for fear it will escalate further.
Dubai officials on Saturday said no injuries were reported after aerial debris struck two buildings in the emirate.
The US embassy in Beirut said on Friday that Iran and its armed groups may target universities in Lebanon and urged US citizens to leave the country.
Israel is waging a parallel campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon after the militant group opened fire on Israel in support of Iran.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli army announced that militants had hit infrastructure facilities in Beirut.
Iran struck a power and water facility in Kuwait on Friday after Trump threatened to hit Iran’s bridges and power plants, underscoring the vulnerability of Gulf states that are heavily dependent on desalination plants for drinking water.
On Thursday, Trump released images of rising dust and smoke as US strikes hit the newly built B1 bridge connecting Tehran to Karaj.
On Friday, a drone crashed into the Red Crescent aid warehouse in the Chogadak region of Bushehr province in southern Iran.
Kuwait Oil Company said that its unmanned aerial vehicles hit the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, while other attacks were prevented in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
Missile debris crashed near Israel’s Haifa port, where a major oil refinery is located.
Oil markets were closed after US crude oil prices rose 11 percent on Thursday after Trump gave no clear signal in his speech that the war would end any time soon.
