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Israeli officials played a role in the rescue effort, providing intelligence to the United States as the search and rescue operation unfolded.
By United with Israel Staff
A dramatic U.S. search-and-rescue operation deep inside Iran successfully recovered a downed American airman after nearly two days behind enemy lines in what officials described as one of the most complex rescue missions in recent military history.
The rescue was announced early Sunday morning by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said the operation involved dozens of aircraft and was carried out deep in hostile territory.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Over the past several hours, the United States military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History,” adding that the rescued crew member is now “safe and sound.”
According to U.S. officials, the rescued officer was one of two crew members aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle that was downed over Iran on Friday.
Both the pilot and the weapons systems officer ejected over hostile territory and survived separately behind enemy lines, leading to two separate rescue missions carried out roughly a day apart.
Fox News reported that Israeli officials played a role in the rescue effort, providing intelligence to the United States as the search and rescue operation unfolded. Israeli forces also reportedly paused strikes in Iran and helped prevent Iranian air activity in the area while the rescue mission was underway over a period of roughly 36 hours.
Trump revealed that the first rescue operation took place earlier but was not immediately made public to avoid jeopardizing the second rescue mission. “This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory,” Trump wrote, adding, “We will never leave an American warfighter behind.”
According to Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin, the downed weapons systems officer demonstrated significant survival skills after ejecting from the aircraft. The officer climbed several thousand feet up a mountain ridge and remained hidden while using either an encrypted communication device or a locator beacon that allowed U.S. forces to track his position.
During the rescue operation, two combat search and rescue helicopters were reportedly damaged by enemy fire and some crew members were injured, though the helicopters were able to land safely. In a separate incident, an A-10 Warthog aircraft was reportedly forced down near the Strait of Hormuz after coming under enemy fire, but the pilot was successfully recovered.
Trump said the operation demonstrated American air superiority over Iran, writing, “The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a single American killed, just proves once again that we have achieved overwhelming air dominance and superiority over the Iranian skies.”
The rescue missions highlighted both the risks of the air war over Iran and the complexity of combat search and rescue operations deep inside hostile territory. The operation is already being described as one of the most daring missions of the conflict so far.
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