Trump confirms second F-15 crew member recovered in ‘most daring’ search and rescue operation

WASHINGTON, DC: U.S. special forces have snatched the second crew member from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle out of Iranian territory following a "heavy firefight," a senior American official confirmed to Al Jazeera early Sunday.

The daring recovery caps a frantic 48-hour search-and-rescue mission deep inside hostile territory. It was the first time Iranian forces had shot down a manned U.S. warplane since the war began in February. Both American airmen are now safe with U.S. troops, President Donald Trump confirmed. He called it one of the “most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.” 

Daring rescue in enemy territory

The second crew member (believed to be the weapons systems officer) was extracted after what the U.S. official described as a “heavy firefight” with Iranian ground forces. Details remain classified, but military sources told outlets, including CBS News, that the operation involved elite combat search-and-rescue teams, supported by helicopters and drones.

The F-15E went down Friday over southwestern Iran, struck by enemy fire in the first confirmed loss of a U.S. fighter to Iranian defenses in the conflict. One crew member was pulled out alive within hours by a UH-60 Black Hawk crew that took small-arms fire but managed to limp back to safety. The second airman remained missing until Sunday.

Video making the rounds on social media showed American aircraft and rescue choppers buzzing over rugged Iranian terrain as Iranian state media urged locals to hunt for the “enemy pilot” and offered rewards for his capture. U.S. forces beat them to it.

No U.S. casualties were reported in the final extraction, though earlier rescue attempts left helicopter crew members wounded.

Iran war heats up as Trump issues ultimatum

The jet’s downing comes as the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran enters its sixth week. Trump issued a blunt 48-hour ultimatum Saturday, demanding Tehran reach a peace deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face what he called “all hell” raining down.

Tehran fired back immediately, calling the threat “helpless and nervous.” A senior Iranian commander with the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters vowed unlimited retaliation against U.S. and Israeli infrastructure if aggression continued.

Hours later, a drone slammed into Kuwait’s Shuwaikh oil sector complex, sparking a major fire at the facility housing the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation headquarters. Kuwaiti officials confirmed the blaze but said no one was hurt. Iranian proxies or direct forces are suspected to be behind the strike.

U.S. and Israeli strikes have meanwhile hammered Iranian targets, including the Mahshahr Petrochemical Zone, where Tehran says five people were killed and 170 wounded. Iran has also claimed to have downed a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone and boasted of new air-defense systems.

Regional tensions boil over

The rescue comes against a backdrop of chaos across the Gulf.

Sirens wailed in Bahrain after Iranian drone debris fell near populated areas. The UAE scrambled air defenses against missile threats. Syria shut a key border crossing with Lebanon amid Israeli strikes that have already displaced more than 1.2 million people.

Experts warn the conflict is inching closer to regional disaster. Former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei urged Gulf nations to step in and “stop this madness” before oil prices spike and radioactive fallout from any strike on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear site contaminates desalination plants.

Trump has repeatedly claimed the war is “nearing an end” and that many top Iranian military leaders have already been taken out. Tehran insists the American effort is a “mirage” that will turn into a “swamp” for U.S. forces.