The US says it has rescued a service member missing behind enemy lines since Iran downed a fighter jet, as Donald Trump escalated pressure on Tehran with renewed threats to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The American president wrote in a social media post that the aviator is injured but “will be just fine”, adding that the rescue involved “dozens of aircraft” and that the US had been monitoring his location in the lead-up to the rescue.
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” he wrote.
The airman’s extraction followed a frantic US search-and-rescue operation after the crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle on Friday, as Iran promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot”.
A second crew member was rescued earlier.
The fighter jet was the first US aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the start of the war, now in its sixth week.
Mr Trump said last week that the US had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast”.
Two days later, Iran shot down two US military planes, showing the perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.
The other jet to go down was an A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor where it crashed was immediately known.
On Sunday, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing thick black smoke rising into the air, claiming its forces had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.
However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told the Associated Press that the US military had blown up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.
Mr Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by Monday or face devastating consequences, writing on Saturday in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
The waterway is a critical route for global energy shipments, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Disruptions there have injected volatility into the market and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternative sources.
“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, on the country’s joint military command, said late on Saturday in response to Mr Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported.
The general threatened all infrastructure used by the US military in the region.