United States forces managed to rescue alive the co-pilot of the fighter shot down by Iran after an intense search and rescue mission. With this mission, Washington avoided more than losing one of its troops: being captured by the Persian country and giving an advantage to Tehran.
According to what Trump said this Sunday, after one of the “most daring search and rescue operations in history”they managed to rescue the soldier, who is “seriously injured”.
“We have rescued the seriously injured and brave member of the F-15 from the depths of the mountains of Iran” after spending seven hours in enemy territory, the president detailed in a message on his social network, Truth Social, where he added that it is “a highly respected colonel”.
The downing of the F-15
Last Friday, Iran shot down a US F-15 on its territory for the first time since the war in the Middle East began due to the offensive by the United States and Israel on February 28. One of the fighter’s two crew members was rescued shortly after the incident, but the other remained missing, prompting Trump to order a combat search and rescue (CSAR) operation.
The American president explained that the rescue took place in broad daylight, “something also unusual”but did not give more details about how the rescue occurred. Neither did the War Department.
The hidden co-pilot and Iranian pressure
As a senior government official explained to The Washington Post, the co-pilot remained hidden in a crevice of a mountain to avoid Iranian forces approaching to capture him. He suffered some injuries, but, according to the BBC, he was able to escape on his own foot and avoid being captured by Iran.
The race to see who would reach the missing soldier first intensified after Iranian television offered a reward to whoever finds itwhile his forces rushed to look for him. Local media reported that many people had moved to the area, but that the army had asked that “No one will mistreat the pilot”.
“The Iranian military was searching for him intensely, with a large contingent, and was getting dangerously close,” Trump said. If they found him stable and alive, Tehran could have captured much more than a soldier, would have laid hands on the United States and improved his cards for eventual negotiation.
Clashes and military deployment
The search efforts were marked by crossfire between US helicopters displaced people and the Iranians who were on the ground. The Pentagon deployed C-130 aircraft, rescue helicopters and dozens of aircraft who flew with a low and slow profile, at a very low altitude to avoid radars and under the threat of being shot down. Iran has assured this Sunday that during this operation shot down four US aircraft.
To mislead, the CIA spread the word inside Iran that US forces had found the soldier and were transferring him by land, according to an official on condition of anonymity told the Post. It was the CIA who located the pilot and shared his location with the White House for Trump to order the rescue mission.
Iranian media broadcast videos of the remains of a charred military plane, which could indicate that the United States destroyed its own downed aircraft to prevent them from falling into the hands of Tehran.
This, like the capture of the soldier, could have given some advantage to Iran in the development of the war as the end of the ultimatum that Trump gave to the Persian country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or, otherwise, would unleash hell on the country.
