Iran has denied the US claims that it carried out a daring search-and-rescue operation to extract the missing crew member of the US F-15 fighter jet, stating that it “thwarted the attempted mission to rescue the pilot” and “neutralised the incoming aircraft.”
The Iranian attempt to demolish the US claims comes as President Donald Trump announced that the US sent dozens of aircraft armed with lethal weapons to rescue and extract the crew member. Trump added that the US crew member was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran and was actively being “hunted down by Iranians who were closing in on him”, but the US successfully managed to rescue him and bring him to Kuwait.
However, the Iranian state-backed Tasnim quoted the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters of Iran to state that Iranian military forces destroyed several US aircraft in southern Isfahan, thwarting an attempted mission to rescue a downed American fighter pilot.
“The spokesperson said the incident followed desperate efforts by US forces to infiltrate central Iran and extract the pilot. A joint operation involving the aerospace and ground forces, volunteer Basij units, and law enforcement servicemen successfully intercepted and neutralised the incoming aircraft,” Tasnim added.
The Iranian media said the operation resulted in the destruction of multiple hostile aircraft, calling it “another humiliating defeat for the US”. It also drew parallels with the failed Operation Eagle Claw in April 1980. It also accused Trump of attempting to downplay the incident.
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The spokesperson also released several images purportedly of the US aircraft in southern Isfahan. He added that the downed aircraft included two Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport plane, all of which were struck and left burning in southern Isfahan.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also shared one of the images, commenting, “if the United States gets three more victories like this, it will be utterly ruined.”