TEHRAN — Iran’s military command announced on Sunday that a United States rescue operation mounted to recover the crew of a downed F-15E fighter-bomber has ended in failure, with Iranian air defences destroying two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport aircraft in the south of Isfahan province.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam Al-Anbiya central headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces, confirmed the development in a statement carried by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). “The enemy’s efforts to rescue the pilot of the downed plane have failed. In the south of Isfahan, enemy air targets were shot down, including two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport aircraft — they are now on fire,” Zolfaghari declared.
The aircraft at the centre of the escalating confrontation is believed to be an F-15E Strike Eagle, a twin-seat fighter-bomber operated by the United States Air Force. Iranian air defences are reported to have engaged and brought down the aircraft, prompting at least one crew member to eject. Iran’s Tasnim News Agency had previously reported that the Iranian military may have taken into custody the American pilot who ejected from the stricken jet.
The failed rescue operation marks a significant and dramatic escalation in what has become an active military confrontation between Washington and Tehran. The loss of three additional aircraft — two rotary-wing platforms and a large transport — in a single rescue sortie underscores the operational reach and readiness of Iran’s integrated air defence network, which has now demonstrated its capacity to engage multiple aircraft types across a broad engagement envelope.
The incident adds a new and grave dimension to the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, with the fate of at least one American airman now apparently in Iranian hands. No immediate statement was issued by the Pentagon at the time of reporting, though President Donald Trump had earlier claimed that a second pilot from the downed F-15E had been successfully recovered.
The conflicting accounts from Washington and Tehran reflect the fog of an active and rapidly evolving military confrontation, the full consequences of which remain to be assessed.
Find more details at Sputnik International.