Iran reports destroying US aircraft during failed rescue operation, while Washington says pilot was successfully retrieved in complex mission. Key Developments Iran says US rescue mission failed, multiple aircraft destroyed near Isfahan. US officials say missing F-15 crew member was successfully recovered. Conflicting accounts emerge over scale and outcome of rescue operation. Iran Claims Rescue Operation Was Thwarted Iranian Armed Forces said on Sunday that they had foiled a US attempt to rescue a downed pilot, destroying multiple aircraft south of Isfahan in central Iran, according to Tasnim news agency.
A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the operation targeted US aircraft involved in an infiltration mission to extract a pilot whose fighter jet had been shot down earlier.
The spokesperson said Iranian forces—including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the army, Basij units, and law enforcement—carried out a coordinated response that resulted in the destruction of several aircraft, including two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport plane.
The statement described the outcome as a “failure” for the United States, drawing comparisons to the 1980 Operation Eagle Claw.
The IRGC added that its air defenses also shot down an MQ-9 drone over Isfahan, adding that four similar drones had been downed in the province over the past five days.
Iranian military officials said the total number of drones downed since the start of the war has reached 162, reflecting what they described as growing control over national airspace.
Tasnim also reported that US forces had carried out strikes in Kohgiluyeh province after failing to locate the missing pilot.
Iranian authorities called on civilians to assist in locating the pilot, who they said remained missing.
US Says Pilot Rescued in Large-Scale Operation In contrast, US officials told CBS News that the missing crew member from the downed F-15E fighter jet was successfully rescued early Sunday.
According to CBS, the operation involved dozens of aircraft and special operations forces, who located the pilot using a tracking beacon.
US President Donald Trump claimed on his Truth social account that the crew member had been retrieved in “one of the most daring” operations conducted by US forces.
US officials said the pilot sustained injuries but was in stable condition.
They added that during earlier rescue attempts, a US helicopter came under fire, injuring some crew members, while an A-10 aircraft involved in the mission was also hit, forcing the pilot to eject before being recovered.
Why would the US send a C130 transport into enemy airspace to rescue a single person? I get the blackhawk part, but not that. Doubt activated.
MC-130J Commando II, not just a regular C-130. These guys serve as a temporary base and refueling point for helicopters. Supposedly where they decided to land and make a temporary base turned out to work except that it was not good enough to take off, so they destroyed the planes to protect the sensitive equipment from falling into Iran’s hands.
It is normal for the US to send in people to rescue downed pilots, but this one required a greater mission just because of how advanced Iran is militarily. So while this was pretty much a historic rescue mission in terms of size, it’s not surprising given that it’s in Iran.
Now, does that mean it wasn’t something else? No. I’m incredibly skeptical of US and Iranian propaganda.
But from most things I’m reading about this, it seems like this is quite plausibly a response to the downed pilots. Consider how much Trump does not want Iranians to be able to parade a captured pilot around right now in the war / not a war that he’s already won. I don’t think this large of a response is unbelievable.
I think doubt is healthy. But I also think it’s quite a plausible response in the circumstances. :shrug:
This guy thinks they were trying to build a operating base in Iran and the plane got shot down helping that. The whole “rescue” was a smokescreen to disguise that operation.