Iran says it downed American fighter jet, U.S. reportedly mounting rescue operation to find crew

Iran claimed to have shot down an American F-15E fighter jet Friday and asked for the Iranian public’s help to find the crew, while U.S. forces have reportedly mounted a rescue operation to find the personnel before they’re captured.

U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Times. But Reuters, citing an unnamed U.S. official, reported that a search-and-rescue operation was under way in Iran to find the crew.

Video footage circulating across social media Friday purports to show U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and other aircraft flying over Iran as part of the rescue mission, though that footage could not be independently confirmed as genuine. A local channel of Iranian state television said the aircraft’s pilot ejected over southwestern Iran.

Iran state-run media shared photos of what they claimed to be pieces of the downed jet. Some military analysts said those pieces seem to indicate the plane is a F-15E Strike Eagle with the Air Force’s 494th Fighter Squadron, based at Britain’s RAF Lakenheath base.

If the claims are true, it would be a potentially game-changing event in the U.S. war against Iran, which is now in its second month. A search-and-rescue operation in Iran could open the door to more U.S. casualties, while the capture of an American service member by the Iranian government would immediately change dynamics both on the ground in the Mideast and in Washington.

It’s possible that Iran may have used foreign-made equipment, such as the Russian-made S-300 missile system, to target the American plane. That would introduce another layer of geopolitical complexity and tension to the situation.

Friday’s apparent downing of a U.S. fighter jet is the first such incident in the campaign against Iran. In the early days of the conflict, Kuwaiti air defenses mistakenly shot down three American fighter jets in a friendly fire incident. None of the crew was killed.

The anchor on the Iranian state media channel read the following announcement on Friday: “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize.”

An on-screen crawl separately urged the public to “shoot them if you see them,” referring to social media footage circulating of what appeared to be U.S. aircraft in the area. 

The channel provided no other immediate details.