Sunday 05 / April / 2026
Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) confirmed that the military rescued the second F-15 crew member, who went missing after Iran downed the jet amid the West Asia conflict.
In a post on social media portal Truth Social, Trump called it the "most daring" search and rescue operation for the US military, stating that the government will "not leave a warfighter behind."
He also confirmed that the crew member sustained injuries.
He wrote, "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 US 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! This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue."
He noted that the US Military sent dozens of aircraft with the "most lethal weapons" for the second rescue mission, after local Iranian groups targeted two Black Hawk helicopters.
Trump said, "At my direction, the US Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot yesterday, which we did not confirm because we did not want to jeopardise our second rescue operation. 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. This is a moment that all Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. God bless America, God bless our Troops, and Happy Easter to all," the social media post read.
Both the US and Iran were conducting search operations for the missing crew member. During the search operations, Iranian tribesmen reportedly opened fire on American helicopters, according to CNN.
The incident occurred in the isolated highlands of the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces, as well as the Bakhtiari region, where local groups targeted two Black Hawk helicopters on Saturday, as detailed by Iran's Fars News Agency.
Following the confrontation, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) praised the tribal groups, describing them as "courageous, valiant and victorious guardians of the borders," as per reports cited by CNN.
This followed the release of footage on Friday allegedly depicting nomadic Bakhtiari tribesmen armed with rifles patrolling the mountainous terrain of Iran's Khuzestan province in search of the American personnel. In the video, one of the individuals is heard saying, "God willing, he will be found."
To further incentivise the search, Iranian authorities had reportedly announced substantial financial bounties for the successful capture of the missing individual.
