TEHRAN: Iranian and American forces raced each other Saturday to recover a crew member of the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.
Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane, while US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other still missing.
Iran’s military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot was rescued.
US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The president has been briefed.”
President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: “No, not at all. No, it’s war.”
A view of a US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, similar to the warplane hit by Iranian fire that reportedly crashed in Kuwait on April 3, 2026. (AFP)
The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.
‘Valuable reward’
A spokesperson for the Iranian military’s central operational command said “an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s advanced air defense system.”
“The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing.”
An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would “receive a valuable reward.”
The US military has announced the loss of several aircraft during Iran operations, including one tanker that crashed in Iraq and three F-15s shot down by Kuwaiti friendly fire.
Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell — who has 400 hours of combat flight experience — said key goals for downed pilots include determining their location and figuring out how to communicate.
“My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don’t want to be captured,” he told AFP.
Iran, US race to find crew member of crashed American fighter jet
