Injured but safe and sound, dozens of aircraft deployed, CIA subterfuge… What we know about the rescue operation of the American pilot in Iran

Donald Trump announced on Sunday, April 5, on his Truth Social network that the second crew member of the F-15e fighter jet that crashed in Iran on Friday, April 3, was rescued by the U.S. armed forces.

The stakes were high for both the United States and Iran. Since Friday, April 3, the two countries had been in a race to find the second crew member of the American F-15E fighter jet that crashed in southwestern Iran. Donald Trump finally announced on Sunday, April 5, that he was rescued during a rescue operation. “We found him!” he exclaimed in a message posted on his Truth Social account.

• Rescued military officer injured but “safe and sound”

The rescued F15-E crew member, “a highly respected colonel,” is “SAFE AND SOUND,” emphasized Donald Trump on Truth Social. The U.S. president, however, added that he had been injured but clarified that he “will be okay.”

According to the American media Axios, citing official sources, this crew member, an officer responsible for the aircraft’s weapon systems, was injured after ejecting from the plane. However, he was still able to walk and thus avoid being captured by the Iranians.

“This brave warrior was behind enemy lines, in the rugged mountains of Iran, pursued by our enemies who were closing in on him hour after hour,” added Donald Trump.

• “Dozens of aircraft” involved in the operation

Donald Trump described the pilot’s extraction from the F15-E as “one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history” and according to him, it involved “dozens of aircraft.”

According to Axios, the rescue operation, which involved exchanges of fire, was carried out by special forces specializing in this type of intervention with extensive air cover. All the military personnel involved in this mission have now left Iranian soil, added the American media.

• CIA involved in creating a smoke screen

Citing sources within the Trump administration, several American media outlets, including Axios and NBC, explain that the rescue operation was partially made possible by a CIA ruse.

Before the pilot’s extraction, the intelligence agency, according to one of its sources, spread a rumor in Iran claiming that the military officer had already been found alive and was being evacuated from the country overland.

• Previous rescue confirmed by Donald Trump

Since Friday, American media outlets had reported that the first crew member of the downed F-15E had been rescued. Donald Trump had not yet confirmed this information, which he finally did on Sunday.

The U.S. president justified this silence by stating that he “did not want to compromise the second rescue operation.” “This is the first time, to the military’s memory, that two American pilots have been rescued safely in enemy territory,” exclaimed Donald Trump, never shy of hyperboles.

• Iran claims to have shot down several American aircraft

According to Donald Trump, no Americans were killed or injured in the two rescue operations conducted since Friday, which he sees as proof of “the undeniable aerial superiority (of the United States) in Iranian airspace.”

At the same time, the Revolutionary Guards have claimed to have shot down several “enemy flying objects” during the recent American rescue mission and talk about five casualties on their territory in strikes related to the pilot’s rescue operation.

According to the spokesperson for the Iranian Unified Command of the Armed Forces, quoted by the Tasnim news agency, a C-130 tanker aircraft and two Blackhawk helicopters were shot down by Tehran.