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Politics
Apr 05, 2026

Trump Announces US Rescue of Second Downed F‑15 Pilot Amid Iranian Claims of a C‑130 Shoot‑down

AI Summary
President Donald Trump confirmed the successful extraction of the second crew member from a U.S. F‑15 shot down over Iran, while Tehran alleges a separate U.S. C‑130 was downed in Isfahan, intensifying the high‑stakes air conflict now in its sixth week.

The White House announced on Truth Social that the United States has retrieved the second airman from the two‑person crew of an F‑15 fighter that Iran said was downed by its air defenses. The rescued officer, identified as a colonel, was described by President Donald Trump as a "brave Warrior" who endured injuries but is expected to recover fully.

Trump’s post highlighted the operation as a "miraculous" rescue, adding that it followed a prior successful extraction of the first crew member the day before. He emphasized that the missions were carried out without any American fatalities or injuries, underscoring his claim of "overwhelming air dominance" over Iranian skies.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that a U.S. aircraft searching for the missing officer was shot down in the southern province of Isfahan. According to Iran’s Fars news agency, the downed plane was a C‑130 transport, destroyed by the Faraj Rangers, a police commando unit. The agency posted images of thick smoke rising from the crash site and accused the U.S. of attempting to conceal a defeat.

Iran has not officially confirmed or denied the rescue of the second pilot, though Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Tehran noted continued air strikes over the area where the fighter was downed. The rescue effort, which involved dozens of U.S. military aircraft, faced “fierce resistance” from Iranian forces, according to reports from Washington.

U.S. officials, cited by Al Jazeera, said the downed airman evaded Iranian units for roughly two days before special‑operations troops engaged in a daylight firefight that lasted several hours. The operation, typically conducted under cover of darkness, was unusually prolonged.

In a separate incident, an A‑10 Warthog crashed after being hit over Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting safely; details on injuries remain unclear.

Trump concluded his statement by asserting that the dual successes—rescuing both pilots without casualties—demonstrated the United States' "air superiority" in the region.