Iranian media on Friday claimed that US efforts to rescue the pilot of a "downed" fighter jet were so far futile, as the pilot had "likely been captured" by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
While a CBS News report confirmed that a search and rescue operation was underway, and had found one of the two crew members of the US fighter jet that Iran shot down, a report from Tehran's semi-official news agency Tasnim alleged that the rescue operation—which it said involved Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 Hercules aircraft—had "so far been futile".
The latter report further speculated that to save face due to the F-35 fighter jet allegedly being shot down and the alleged capture of its pilot, the US military could introduce "another individual ... within the coming hours as the rescued pilot", citing sources in the know.
This comes after the IRGC claimed on Friday that it had shot the stealth fighter jet over central Iran using its new air defence system.
"Due to the severe explosion of the fighter jet upon impact and crash, it is unlikely that the pilot has escaped," the IRGC said, publishing pictures of the remnants of the "downed" fighter jet, which THE WEEK could not verify independently.
It was based on these photos that Iranian media earlier claimed that the pilot of the fighter jet had ejected himself out before the crash, and had landed inside the country.
This also comes after an earlier duel between an F-15E fighter and an Iranian Shahed drone over the skies of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
It is currently unknown if the F-15E was also shot down, with a report from semi-official agency Fars only claiming that the aircraft failed to stop the drone from "successfully targeting American military facilities in Erbil".
However, no details about the F-35 or the F-15E have been conclusively confirmed by the Pentagon, as the war in the Gulf rages on.