The United States on Friday scrambled jets and helicopters after its official confirmed that Iran downed a fighter jet over the country.
The development, reported first by Iranian news agencies, was later confirmed by US and Israeli military officials to The New York Times.
US officials said that the fate of the plane’s crew was not known even as American forces launched a search and rescue operation to trace any survivors, before Iran could get them, The Times reported.
While the Iranian media reports said to have downed a US F-15E fighter jet, hours after taking down US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet, the US is yet to clear which of the either two jets was shot.
Here are the latest development in the story:
- Iranian news outlets, Fars and Tasnim, said several US helicopters and jets were deployed for a search and rescue mission. However, the reports added that the aircraft retreated after coming under Iranian air defence fire.
- According to Iranian reports, US Black Hawk helicopters, C-130 Hercules aircraft were involved in the search and rescue operations.
- Iranian broadcasters meanwhile issued warning for the US aircraft and pilot(s), urging residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward for anyone who did.
- A video also surfaced purportedly showing a C-130 Hercules aircraft, followed by two choppers, flying low over Southern Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian media, referring to social media footage, urged public to “shoot them if you see them.” The appeal was one of the first instances when Iran went on television urging people to look for a suspected downed pilot.
- Earlier in the day, Iranian media released images that claimed to show debris of the second F-35 fighter jet was struck and downed over central Iran by a modern air-defence system of the Islamic Republic’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian officials added that the pilot is unlikely to have ejected.
- The US fighter jet was shot down shortly after President Donald Trump celebrated the US bombing of Karaj bridge in Iran, following which Tehran warned of retaliatory strikes on US-Israel and the Gulf neighbours.
The US Central Command and the White House are yet to officially react to the developments.
