Donald Trump claimed that the war was almost won. On Friday, an F-15E was shot down in southwestern Iran, and a crew member is still missing. A day that challenges the prevailing American discourse.
Wednesday evening, the war was almost won. Iran was “defeated”, “militarily, economically, and in all other respects.” In his national address, Donald Trump assured, “They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is completely destroyed. We are an invincible military force.” The United States would hit the Iranians so hard in the next two to three weeks that they would “be taken back to the Stone Age, where they belong.”
But on Friday, an F-15E fighter jet was shot down by the Iranian anti-aircraft defense in southwest Iran. The two crew members (a pilot and a weapons system officer, responsible for arming and sensors) ejected. The pilot was rescued by U.S. special forces on Iranian territory. Americans are now searching for his colleague.
But they are not the only ones. Iranian authorities have promised a bounty of ten billion tomans for his capture, an amount equivalent to about 50 years of minimum wage. The Iranian state television broadcasted images of armed residents, heading to search for the pilot in the mountains of Khuzestan. The Iranian army urged them to “not mistreat the pilot.”
“For the United States, this is a severe military and diplomatic blow. It is the first time since the beginning of the war, now entering its sixth week, that an American aircraft has been shot down by Iran. Three others have been shot down by friendly fire. But this was not all. After the F-15 strike, the Iranians shot down an A-10 Thunderbolt “Warthog”, mobilized for the rescue mission. The pilot reached Kuwaiti airspace and ejected as the aircraft crashed. He is safe in Kuwait.
The Iranians also hit two Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search mission – the pilots reportedly sustained only minor injuries. In one day, Iran shot down two planes and hit two helicopters. “They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is completely destroyed. Our military force is unbeatable,” Trump had affirmed on Wednesday.
According to five sources close to American intelligence services, after a month of war, the United States can only ascertain the destruction of about one-third of the vast Iranian missile arsenal and one-third of drones, their primary targets along with the Iranian Navy.
But Iranian retaliation continues, with attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets. Trump, on Wednesday, appeared indifferent. “The countries of the world that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz must preserve this passage. They must cherish it. They must secure and protect it. They can do it easily.”
Since Friday, Donald Trump has mainly been publishing posts related to Easter on his Truth Social network. On Saturday, he gave Iran 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz “before hell rains down on them. Glory to GOD!”
