One crew member of the US Air Force has been rescued after a US fighter jet was shot down by Iran amid the ongoing US-Iran war.
The news came after state media reported that Iranian forces launched a search operation for the crew of a United States fighter jet that was downed by an air defence system.
As reported by the Fars News on Friday, the U.S. military-backed fighter jet was hit over southwestern Iran.
Reports surfaced that a US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southern Iran, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing “Operation Epic Fury” conflict.
After the jet was downed, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf mocked US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of victory in the war.
“After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'” Ghalibaf wrote in a social media post.
According to Iranian reports, the aircraft was an F-15 jet and likely manned by two pilots.
Iranian state media initially claimed to have downed an advanced F-35, but aviation experts identified wreckage, including a distinct tail fin from the 494th Fighter Squadron, as belonging to an F-15E.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media urged citizens to look for the missing US crew members and promised rewards for handing them over.
Iranian news outlets have published a video claiming to show people there “searching for the American pilot”.
An IRIB anchor told viewers, "If you capture and hand over a pilot or pilots of the enemy alive to the law enforcement and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and prize.”
And on ISNA, the governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province promised a reward of ten billion tomans (about $76,000) for anyone who hands over the “criminal American pilot."
An Iranian state TV newsreader for a local channel has reported that rewards will be given to anyone who captures the pilot alive.
