Iran Military Declares US F-15E Airman Rescue Operation “Completely Foiled”

Iran’s military announced on Sunday that a US operation to rescue an F-15E airman from a downed fighter jet had been “completely foiled”, without confirming whether the pilot had been captured.

The statement came shortly after US President Donald Trump claimed that the officer had been rescued and was “SAFE and SOUND.”

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s central military command Khatam Al-Anbiya, stated, “The so-called US military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled.”

In a video broadcast by state television, Zolfaghari said that “two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed” during the failed operation. He added that Trump’s statements were “empty rhetoric and diversion although the reality on the ground demonstrates the superior position of Iran’s powerful armed forces.”

State media released images showing charred wreckage across a desert area, with smoke still rising from the site. Reports indicated that five people were killed during the strikes in southwestern Iran, though it was unclear whether they were military personnel or civilians.

Since Friday, footage has also circulated showing local residents, some armed and carrying flags, searching for the aviator after Iranian authorities offered a bounty for information.