Hundreds of SEAL Team 6 commandos, fake CIA intel and a battle for survival atop 7,000-foot ridge: Inside the historic US mission to save F-15 airman in Iran
A daring F-15 airman was rescued while fighting for his life atop a 7,000-foot hill during a daring mission that involved hundreds of SEAL Team 6 commandos and deceptive intelligence from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The unidentified airman, whom President Donald Trump described as a “brave warrior,” was stranded behind enemy lines after his fighter jet was shot down in a remote region of Iran on Friday.
The aviator disappeared after a pilot who was with him ejected the plane safely and was rescued by two military helicopters the same day.
He managed to evade the Iranians for nearly two days by climbing the high, narrow mountain while American MQ-9 Reaper drones hovered overhead, firing missiles at Iranian forces that got too close to him.
The airman, a weapons system officer, had a gun only to protect himself and was ‘severely injured’ after being ejected from the F-15.
Following the crash, Iranok military forces placed a $60,000 bounty on the airman’s head, leading Iranian militants to hunt him down in the mountains.
CIA agents then planted false intelligence that the airman had been rescued and deported from Iran. New York Times reported.
Trump, meanwhile, said US military officials received “beep” information about the airman’s location, but a radio message confused them and they thought the Iranians were “sending the wrong signals” and trying to trap American forces. Axios.
According to the president, after being kicked off the plains the airman said: ‘To God is the power’ but a US defense official later confirmed that the phrase was exactly ‘God is good’.
“The words he said on the radio sounded like what a Muslim would say,” Trump continued, adding that those who knew the officer said he was a religious person.
An F-15 airman was rescued in a daring mission Saturday evening after his fighter jet was shot down by Iranian forces. The pilot was safely deplaned and rescued by two military helicopters the same day, but the airman remained missing
Hundreds of SEAL Team 6 commandos and fake CIA intelligence helped get him to safety. The airman also bravely climbed a 7,000-foot peak to fight for his life
A senior U.S. official told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst that the airmen were referred to as a “precious package” that they were trying to take “out of the country by sea.”
‘The purpose of this was to remove the Iranians from the area where the US crew was located. The official added that the deception campaign was working.
The agency eventually discovered where the airman was hiding and passed vital information to the Pentagon, leading to his heroic rescue.
The daring Saturday night rescue mission took commandos, or trained elite soldiers, into the heart of enemy territory.
After a clash between US soldiers and local militias, he and the commandos were brought to safety. According to the Times.
However, two transport planes and a helicopter got stuck in the mud and could not take off; More military personnel were trapped behind enemy lines as Basij warriors approached the failed rescue sites.
While they were evacuating under fire from the advancing Iranians, three more transport planes flew to evacuate the downed airman and his rescue team.
Miraculously, US forces escaped and a rescue plane flew the injured airman to Kuwait for medical treatment. There were no losses in the USA.
As they left, US soldiers had to ‘blow up’ their own planes and helicopters to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Iranian army.
Following the crash, Iranian military forces placed a $60,000 bounty on the airman’s head, leading Iranian militants to hunt him down in the mountains. (Image: Bakhtiari tribesmen in Khuzestan head into the mountains with rifles in hand, searching for missing American F-15 jet pilot)
On Saturday evening, Trump confirmed the airman’s safe rescue, writing on Truth Social: ‘WE GOT HIM!’ President called him a ‘brave warrior’
It was a move that would likely cost the US military millions of dollars and demonstrated the urgency of evacuating US forces under extreme pressure.
On Saturday evening, Trump confirmed the airman’s safe rescue, writing on Truth Social: ‘WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, in the last few hours the United States Army conducted one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History for one of our incredible Crew Members, who is also a highly respected Colonel, and I am excited to let you know that he is now SAFE and LOUD!
‘This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, hunted by our enemies who were drawing closer with each passing hour, but he was never truly alone because his Commander-in-Chief, Minister of War, Chief of Staff and his fellow Warriors were monitoring his location 24 hours a day and carefully planning to rescue him.’
Trump further praised the operation, calling it ‘one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US History.’
The president posted about the airman again on Sunday, praising the successful mission and announcing that he would hold a news conference about the rescue in the Oval Office with members of the U.S. military at 1 p.m. on Monday.
He added: ‘May the Almighty MILITARY PROTECT OUR WARRIORS!’
Immediately afterwards, Trump shared an abusive post threatening Iran as the war continued.
A US military plane flying low over Iran on Sunday amid daring rescue mission
Picture: Seat ejected from a US plane, published in Iranian media
‘Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day in Iran, all in one,’ he wrote.
‘Nothing like this will happen!!! Open the damn Throat, you crazy bastards, or you’ll live in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.’
The president’s latest threat came just days after US-Israeli airstrikes destroyed Iran’s highest bridge, killing eight people.
The B1 bridge, which connects Iran’s capital to the western city of Karaj, was targeted in two waves of attacks on Thursday after Trump said he would return Tehran ‘back to the Stone Age’.
Iranian state media claimed that the second attack on the 136-meter structure took place while rescue forces were at the scene to help at least 95 injured people.
Now Trump has said that Iran’s power plants will be bombed if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
US forces participating in the rescue mission were forced to destroy two of their own planes after they became stranded at a remote Iranian air base
Iranian Basij members had only one pair of American underpants to show off at the rescue site
Trump was seen returning to the White House for the first time in days after visiting Trump National Golf Club on Sunday
The narrow and vital waterway used as a high-volume shipping route has been closed since the war began on February 28, and Iran has since vowed to prevent ‘enemy’ ships from passing.
Trump was seen returning to the White House for the first time in days after visiting Trump National Golf Club on Sunday.
Before that, he had been holed up in the White House and “worked non-stop” over the holiday weekend as tensions continued to escalate, White House communications director Steven Cheung said in an X post on Saturday.
On Wednesday, when he visited the Supreme Court, where a case related to birthright citizenship was being heard. Later that night, he gave a speech to the nation about war with Iran.
