US Strikes Iran to Locate Pilot of Downed Fighter Jet
A military source cited by the news agency confirmed that the targeted areas were selected based on intelligence pointing to the pilot's suspected whereabouts, and that the strikes were launched after US rescue operations failed to recover the missing airman.
The same source cast doubt on Washington's official account of events, stating that the United States was "not telling the full truth" about the pilot — and that Iranian authorities would not confirm or deny whether the individual was in their custody.
The incident traces back to Friday, when Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced it had shot down an enemy warplane over central Iran using its air defense systems. US media subsequently identified the aircraft as an American F-15 fighter jet, reporting that one pilot had been recovered while search-and-rescue teams were still pursuing the second.
The aerial confrontation is the latest flashpoint in a war now in its sixth week. The US and Israel launched a joint air offensive against Iran on Feb. 28, a campaign that has claimed more than 1,340 lives to date — among them then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran has answered with waves of drone and missile strikes against Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf nations sheltering US military forces, inflicting casualties and infrastructure damage while sending shockwaves through global markets and international aviation routes.
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