Missing American airman rescued as Tehran steps up attacks on neighbours
Phil Stewart And Idrees Ali
Updated ,first published
washingtonAfter American forces rescued an airman whose plane was shot down in Iran and crashed behind enemy lines, US President Donald Trump made new and blasphemous threats to increase attacks on Iran and its infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened by the deadline given to him.
Defiant Iran has shown no signs of backing down, striking economic and infrastructure targets in neighboring Gulf Arab states and challenging the US rescue calculus.
Trump promised to attack Iran’s power plants and bridges in his social media post. He promised that “crazy bastards” would “live in hell” if the strait, an important waterway for global trade, was not opened to maritime traffic by Tuesday.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day all rolled into one in Iran. It won’t happen! Open the damn Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to God. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he said on Truth Social.
Trump had previously set such deadlines but extended them when negotiators claimed progress was being made toward ending the war that has killed thousands, rattled global markets, cut off key shipping routes and sent fuel prices soaring in just over five weeks.
Meanwhile, U.S. forces bravely rescued an airman behind enemy lines after Iran shot down an F-15 fighter jet, solving a crisis for President Donald Trump as he weighs escalating the war, now in its sixth week.
“WE GOT HIM!” Trump said in a Truth Social post early Sunday. “Over the past several hours, the U.S. Army conducted one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”
The rescue is a bright spot for the United States in a war that has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatens to cause lasting damage to the world economy after Iran nearly closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said dozens of US military aircraft were involved in the rescue mission in the mountains of Iran. The airman, a weapons systems officer who Trump said had the rank of colonel, was injured but said his condition would be “good.”
He was the second member of the two-man F-15 crew that Iran said was shot down by its air defenses on Friday.
Trump said the US did not approve the first rescue to avoid endangering the second operation.
Iranian officials had asked citizens to help locate the remaining American, hoping to gain the upper hand against Washington in the war that the United States and Israel launched on February 28. Iranian media reported that Tehran had offered a reward of approximately US$66,000 ($96,000) if the airman was captured alive.
The shooting down of a US airliner and the search for its crew member has punctured the aura of invincibility that Trump has tried to project as he tries to fend off the escalating political risks of war.
Trump has repeatedly claimed dominance over Iranian airspace and used maximalist rhetoric to argue that the United States has won and Iran’s military capabilities have been eliminated in an effort to calm markets and the American public strongly opposed to the war.
Analysts said the downing of the jet cast doubt on Trump’s claim of air superiority over Iran.
Trump did not provide detailed information about the rescue operation, but said that it was the first time that two US pilots were rescued separately deep in enemy territory.
The high-risk rescue effort was met with fierce resistance from Iran.
Reuters reported on Friday that two Black Hawk helicopters participating in the search were hit by Iranian fire but exited Iranian airspace. In a separate incident, a pilot from an A-10 Warthog fighter jet ejected after being shot down over Kuwait, but the extent of injuries to the crew were unclear, officials said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said several “flying objects” were destroyed during the US mission after the regime’s police command announced the downing of an American C-130 aircraft south of Isfahan.
Yet Trump prevailed.
“The fact that we were able to conduct both of these operations without a single American being killed or even injured proves once again that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority in the skies of Iran,” he said in the statement.
U.S. aircrews are trained on what to do when they fall behind enemy lines; these measures are known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE), but few speak fluent Persian and face the challenge of remaining undetected while seeking rescue. To date, 13 US service members have been killed and more than 300 injured in the conflict, according to US Central Command.
Earlier this weekend, Trump threatened to unleash “apocalypse” on Iran on Monday (Washington time), saying the 10-day deadline for Iran to reach a peace deal with the United States had expired. Iran has shown little sign of accepting Trump’s peace demands and has put forward its own terms; Many of these are unacceptable to the United States and Israel.
The President warned that if Iran did not accept his terms and open the Strait of Hormuz to all ship traffic originating from the Persian Gulf, the United States would bomb the country’s civilian energy infrastructure; These attacks may constitute a war crime under international law.
Iran announced on Saturday that Iraq, a major oil producer, would be exempt from shipping restrictions in the strait and would allow up to 3 million barrels of Iraqi oil per day. An Iraqi official sounded a cautious note, saying the exit depends on whether shipping companies are willing to risk entering the strait.
Tehran continued its attacks on its neighbors over the weekend. Kuwait Oil Company said on Sunday that its headquarters caught fire after a drone attack. The damaged building also houses the Emirates Ministry of Petroleum. Drone attacks were also carried out on two electricity and distillation facilities, causing “significant material damage”, Kuwait News Agency reported, citing an electricity ministry spokesman.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a statement Sunday that civil defense “took measures to contain a fire that broke out at a facility as a result of Iranian aggression,” without addressing the location and type of facility. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defense also said in a statement on Sunday that its systems are actively combating missile and drone threats.
The Israeli military said on Saturday it struck a petrochemical complex in southwestern Iran, claiming it produced military materials. Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that 5 people died and 170 people were injured in the attack.
A security guard was killed in other attacks targeting the vicinity of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Tasnim said main parts of the facility, where workers from Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom are located, were not affected.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran, while more than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon. More than two dozen people died in Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank. It was reported that 19 people died in Israel and 10 Israeli soldiers died in Lebanon.
Reuters, Bloomberg, AP
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