Trump Says Rescued US Crew Member Is Safe After Iran Operation
U.S. president announces second successful recovery after fighter jet was downed over Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump said American forces had rescued a second crew member from a fighter jet brought down over Iran, describing the mission as one of the most daring search-and-rescue operations in U.S. history. Major news outlets, including Reuters, The Washington Post, AP and The Guardian, reported that the crew member had indeed been recovered after a high-risk mission in Iranian territory.
Trump made the announcement in a lengthy public statement in which he said the rescued officer, described in reports as a colonel, had been trapped behind enemy lines in mountainous terrain and was being tracked while U.S. forces prepared the operation. Reuters reported that the White House released the statement through press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The rescue followed the earlier recovery of the first crew member from the same downed F-15E aircraft. Reuters, AP and The Guardian reported that the second recovery ended an urgent search operation after the aircraft was shot down over Iran.
While the rescue itself is broadly corroborated, some of Trump’s wider claims remain harder to verify independently. The Washington Post reported that two U.S. helicopters involved in the mission came under Iranian fire and that some personnel were injured, which complicates Trump’s assertion that no American was wounded.
Trump also used the operation to argue that the United States had achieved air dominance over Iran. That assessment is not established as fact in the reporting reviewed, especially as recent coverage has also documented U.S. aircraft losses and hostile fire during rescue efforts.
The statement drew added attention for its use of the term “Secretary of War.” That wording aligns with current U.S. Defence Department usage on official biography pages for Pete Hegseth.
