United States and Iran engaged in a race to search for a crashed American aviator

The United States and Iran are engaged in a race to find one of the two occupants of the first American plane to crash on Iranian territory since the beginning of the war. The Iranian army claimed to have shot down the plane, an F-15E fighter bomber. American media reports, on the other hand, that one of the two aviators ejected while in flight and was exfiltrated during a special forces raid in southwest Iran, with the fate of the second remaining unknown.

Five weeks after the start of the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28th against the Islamic Republic, which has resulted in thousands of deaths mostly in Iran and Lebanon, this represents a serious setback for the American aviation. Especially since the Iranian army claims to have hit another American aircraft, an A-10 Thunderbolt II close air support aircraft, which crashed in the Gulf. The New York Times had previously reported the crash of an American aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz, stating that its sole pilot was rescued unharmed.

Donald Trump kept informed

After a long silence, the White House simply stated that the American president had “been kept informed” of the loss of an aircraft in southwest Iran. In an interview with NBC, Donald Trump assured that this would “not change anything at all” regarding potential negotiations with Tehran to find a resolution to a conflict shaking the global economy.

Since the start of the war, no American soldier has been killed or captured on Iranian soil, but 13 have died in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

The F-15E was destroyed by an anti-aircraft defense system of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, a spokesperson for the Iranian armed forces stated. “Additional searches are ongoing,” he said.

A generous reward

The New York Times and the Washington Post claim to have authenticated photos and videos circulating on social networks and in Iranian media of American helicopters and planes flying at low altitude in the area.

The Iranian state television in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad region (southwest) broadcasted images presented as those of the wreckage, promising a “generous reward” to anyone who would deliver the pilots.

Houston Cantwell, a former American Air Force pilot, explained to AFP that during operations like those carried out against Iran, special forces are kept on standby at all times to rescue downed pilots in enemy territory.

“It provides immense peace of mind to know that they will do everything possible to come and get you,” he said, but added, “at the same time, they will not embark on a suicide mission.”

According to him, the priority for a pilot in such a situation is “above all to find cover” and to find the best possible place to wait for extraction, such as a clearing or the roof of a building.

Retaliation

Meanwhile, Iran continues to fire missiles and drones at Israel and the Gulf monarchies, allies of the United States, in retaliation for attacks on its soil and in response to Donald Trump’s threats to destroy its infrastructure.

Israel, on the other hand, once again bombarded the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, considered a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement. A person was slightly injured Saturday morning by glass shards in the Tel Aviv suburbs after an alert for Iranian missiles. In Bahrain, debris from intercepted drones caused four minor injuries and material damage, according to authorities.

In Tehran, an AFP journalist heard several powerful explosions Saturday morning from the northern part of the city, an area targeted the previous day by intense strikes. Donald Trump threatens to target Iranian civilian infrastructure such as power plants, although this could expose the United States to accusations of war crimes.