Iran’s foreign ministry alleged on Monday that a US operation to rescue the F-15E airman, whose jet was shot down by Tehran’s forces over its territory, may have been a cover to “steal enriched uranium” from the Islamic Republic.
US President had announced on Sunday that his country’s special forces recovered the second crew member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday, .
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were “many questions and uncertainties” about the operation.
“The area where the American pilot was claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central Iran,” Baqaei said.
“The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all,” he further said, adding that the operation was “a disaster” for the United States.
Iran’s military has called it “a deception and escape mission”, insisting it was “completely foiled”.
It said several US aircraft had to “make emergency landings” in southern Isfahan province after being hit during the mission, with the US “forced to heavily bombard the downed aircraft” as a result.
US claims aircrafts blown up due to a ‘technical malfunction’
The United States government said that during the high-risk special operations mission in Isfahan.
According to US officials quoted by the New York Times and Reuters, the two transport planes ferrying special operations forces into rugged terrain in Central Iran suffered unspecified “technical malfunctions” that prevented them from taking off after landing.
The reports further added that US commanders ordered the two aircraft to be blown up using thermite charges because they could not fly. This “scuttle” order was intended to prevent sensitive military equipment, including advanced communication and encryption technology, from falling into the hands of the approaching troops.
Iranian military spokespeople, cited by Al Jazeera and Press TV, claimed that Tehran’s forces successfully intercepted and neutralised the aircraft through a joint operation.
They termed the US explanation of “technical malfunction” as an attempt to hide a “humiliating defeat”.
Why is Isfahan important?
Isfahan is often called “Nesf-e-Jahan” (Half of the World) as it is considered one of Iran’s most historically and strategically vital cities.
It houses the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre, the country’s largest nuclear research complex.
The site handles uranium conversion and fuel production, which Tehran claims is for the country’s civilian nuclear program, while the US and Israel allege it is being used to produce nuclear weapons.
Apart from that, the area is also a major defence manufacturing hub and has the Khatami (Shekari) Air Base, which is home to Iran’s remaining fleet of F-14 Tomcat fighter jets.
