U.S. rescues pilot who ejected after fighter jet was shot down by Iran, officials say

WASHINGTON— A crew member was rescued after an American plane crashed in Iran on Friday, Associated Press reported, citing US and Israeli officials.

U.S. forces launched a rescue operation in southwestern Iran after at least one American crew member was ejected from a fighter jet shot down by Iranian defenses, according to a U.S. official and news sources.

The downing of the F-15E jet was confirmed to The Times by a US official who was not authorized to speak publicly. This type of jet reportedly carries a standard crew of two, but it is unclear whether more than one crew member is ejected from the aircraft.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued for weeks that the United States has “complete and undisputed control of Iranian airspace” after destroying the country’s air defenses.

“Iran has no air defense, Iran has no air force,” he said at a press conference at the Pentagon on March 13. “Today, as we speak, we’re flying over Iran and Tehran all day with fighters and bombers, picking the targets they pick as our intelligence gets better and better and more refined.”

However, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard claimed that the new type of Iranian air defense system, deployed for the first time in recent days, shot down a warplane on Friday.

The statements led to conflicting instructions from Iranian state-affiliated broadcasters. A local television station initially encouraged viewers to look for the crashed pilot and “shoot it on sight.”

The company changed the instructions after local police issued a statement asking the public to capture American pilots and hand them over alive to security agencies “to receive a valuable reward,” according to the Associated Press.

According to Fars News, Iranian accounts on social media posted videos showing helicopters searching for crashed pilots in Iran’s western and southern provinces.

Fars also reported that authorities in southwestern Iran offered a “valuable reward” to anyone who “captured the American pilot alive.”

Footage of the tail section posted on social media had markings indicating it was from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, Peter Layton, a visiting researcher at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia, told NBC News in an interview.

US and Israel increase attacks on infrastructure

The development comes as US and Israeli forces escalate attacks on civilian areas and key infrastructure across Iran, including attacks on residential buildings, health centers and Iran’s largest bridge, with President Trump warning that the US “has not even begun to destroy what remains in Iran.”

The president posted striking images on his social media late Thursday of the smoldering B1 bridge, a high viaduct suspended by cables that was torn apart in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

“Iran’s largest bridge is being demolished, never to be used again – There is still much to be done!” Trump wrote.

The $400 million bridge connecting Tehran to the city of Karaj was the largest bridge in Iran and is often regarded as one of the most significant, expensive and complex engineering works in the Middle East.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei described the attack as “a war crime in the style of ISIS terrorism.” Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described this action as a sign of the moral collapse of “an enemy in disarray”, stating that such actions would not force the Iranians to surrender.

“Every bridge and building will be rebuilt stronger. What will never be fixed: the damage to America’s standing.”

The attacks came after Trump announced what he called a two-to-three-day “exit” from hostilities, while also warning that he would “bring Iran back to the Stone Age” if it did not give in to US demands.

Reports from Iranian state media and international monitoring groups indicate that the strikes also hit homes, religious centres, universities and municipal infrastructure in many provinces, raising concerns among humanitarian organizations that the scope of targets is expanding.

The United States and Israel have carried out routine attacks on Iranian health facilities since March 1, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.

“WHO has confirmed more than 20 attacks on healthcare in Iran, resulting in at least nine deaths, including the death of a healthcare worker fighting infectious diseases and a member of the Iranian Red Crescent Society,” Tedros wrote to X.

Iran’s health ministry estimates that approximately 2,076 people have been killed and 26,500 injured in US-Israeli attacks since the conflict began on February 28. An estimated 1,300 people were killed in Lebanon, according to the health ministry, while more than two dozen people died in Gulf countries and the occupied West Bank.

Thirteen US soldiers were killed and 19 Israeli soldiers were also reported dead in the five-week war that triggered growing unrest in the US.

A recent Pew Research Center poll conducted in late March found that most Americans oppose direct U.S. military intervention in a war with Iran. A separate Gallup poll reported declining approval of the administration’s handling of foreign policy.

Lawmakers in both parties have expressed concerns about Israel’s influence on the Trump administration’s decision to enter a long conflict, fueling debates over military aid and executive war powers.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday she plans to oppose future military aid to Israel, including Iron Dome defense systems. He argued that the Israeli government had recently funded a $45 billion defense budget and was in a position to finance its war without U.S. help.

“I will not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and U.S. law,” he said on X.

Iran hits desalination plant and oil refinery

Iran returned fire, again targeting infrastructure targets operated by its Gulf neighbors. A series of airstrikes set Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery on fire as Kuwaiti firefighters tried to extinguish multiple fires there, the Associated Press reported.

Kuwait also reported that the Iranian attack significantly damaged a desalination plant that supplies drinking water to the region.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Israel scrambled to intercept missiles from Iran on Friday, according to reports, despite Pentagon assurances that Iran’s military facilities and missile capabilities have been largely destroyed.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates closed a gas field after a missile strike rained down debris and started a fire, the Associated Press reported.

The war pushed Iran to tighten its grip on the Strait of Hormuz; It has led to a 50 percent increase in oil prices, a rise in stock markets and increased supply chain disruptions that threaten to destabilize global food markets.

Americans felt oil was on the rise again this week after Trump’s speech on Wednesday dashed investors’ hopes for a quick end to the dispute and U.S. crude oil prices rose 11% on Thursday and another half point on Friday.