The US military has rescued one of the pilots of an F-15 fighter jet that crashed in Iran on Friday, as the search continues for a second crew member.
A senior defense official confirmed the Iranian state news reports","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":" Iranian state news reports about the incident and rescue efforts. This is the first downing of a plane inside Iran since the start of the war and could have an impact on the Trump administration's plan to quickly end the conflict that has lasted for weeks.
Iranian media","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.tasnimnews.ir/en/news/2026/04/03/3555907/us-effort-to-recover-downed-fighter-pilot-fails","_id":"0000019d-548c-d98a-a1dd-548fb18b000a","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019d-548c-d98a-a1dd-548fb18b000b","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Iranian media said on Friday that the pilot had ejected from the plane, although US officials did not confirm.
The Department of Defense, the Air Force, and US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing military operation.
This incident, especially when it involves captured soldiers, threatens to attack","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/01/trump-warns-us-will-hit-iran-extremely-hard-over-next-two-to-three-weeks-00855071","_id":"0000019d-548c-d98a-a1dd-548fb18b000c","_type":"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_id":"0000019d-548c-d98a-a1dd-548fb18b000d","_type":"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>to postpone The military campaign President Donald Trump said this week will end in two to three weeks. White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said the president had been briefed on the plane and related rescue efforts.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a press conference this week, insisted that the US had defeated most of the Iranian air defenses that the US was deploying. ","link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":" he was sending large B-52 bombers will fly over the country.
The war resulted in the deaths of 13 American servicemen and thousands of Iranians. But the possible kidnapping of a member of the group can raise the bar.
“Such a situation can only create [Trump] to double down,” said Firas Maksad, managing director of the Middle East and North Africa practice at Eurasia Group, a global consulting firm.
Daniella Cheslow contributed to this report.
