The missing US airman has sustained injuries, but President Trump says he will be “just fine,” ITV News’ David Harper reports
The second US military pilot who went missing after Iran shot down a fighter jet has been rescued, President Donald Trump has said.
A frantic US search-and-rescue operation was launched after an F-15E Strike Eagle jet crashed on Friday, as Iran also offered a reward for anyone who handed in the “enemy pilot”.
Trump announced the rescue in a social media post early on Sunday, and said: “This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour.”
Another military pilot was rescued earlier on Friday.
Trump said that the pilot is injured but “will be just fine,” adding that the rescue involved “dozens of aircraft” and that the US had been monitoring his location “24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue.”
The fighter jet was the first US aircraft to crash in Iranian territory since the conflict began in late February.
Trump said last week the US had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast”.
Two days later, Iran shot down two US military aircraft, showing the risks of the US military campaign and Iran’s ability to continue striking back despite being weakened.
The conflict began with joint US-Israel strikes against Iran on February 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, disrupted key shipping routes and driven up fuel prices.
Both sides have targeted civilian areas, raising concerns about potential war crimes.
The other aircraft downed was a US A-10 attack plane. The condition of its crew and the exact crash location were not immediately known.
Trump renews threat
Trump has renewed his threat to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route that has been blocked by Tehran, warning that there will be severe consequences if it is not reopened by Monday.
In a social media post on Saturday, he wrote: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
Iran responded with its own warning, with General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi saying on late Saturday the “doors of hell will be opened to you” if the country’s infrastructure is attacked, and threatening US military infrastructure in the region.
Despite the escalation, diplomatic efforts are continuing.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrab, said its attempts to broker a ceasefire were “right on track, with talks expected to be hosted between the US and Iran soon.
Regional mediators, including Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, are working to bring both sides to the negotiating table, with proposals including a pause in fighting to allow for a diplomatic settlement.
Meanwhile, a second US military aircraft went down in the Middle East on Friday, according to a US official, although it remains unclear whether it crashed or was shot down, or if Iran was involved.
Iranian state media reported that a US A-10 attack aircraft had crashed in the Persian Gulf after being hit by Iranian defences.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait
Iran has also threatened it could disrupt another major shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
It makes up more than a tenth of the world’s seaborne oil, along with a quarter of global container shipping.
The conflict has killed more than 1,900 people in Iran.
Elsewhere, more than two dozen people have died in Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, 19 in Israel, and 13 US soldiers.
In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and over one million displaced, with 10 Israeli soldiers also reported dead.
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