The most prestigious law school admissions discussion board in the world.
|
 |
 
|
tabloid: boots on ground
| UN peacekeeper | 04/04/26 |
Poast new message in this thread
Date: April 4th, 2026 12:28 AM Author: UN peacekeeper https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/03/iran-claims-it-downed-us-fighter-jet-and-captured-pilot/ US special forces enter Iran to rescue downed airman Race to find missing crew member of F-15 jet after it was shot down by Tehran US special forces entered Iran on Friday night to rescue a crew member of a downed fighter jet.
Iran shot down a US F-15 over its airspace, the first fighter jet destroyed by enemy fire since the war began.
Two crew members ejected, reports suggested, triggering a race between Iran and the US to find the stranded American airmen.
One was rescued in an operation involving two US military helicopters and low-flying refuelling aircraft, which were targeted by light weaponry.
Both helicopters were hit by Iranian fire, with one trailing smoke as it returned to Iraqi territory, but they landed safely, officials said. The whereabouts of the remaining US airman were unknown on Friday night, as Iranian media broadcast images of local militia fanning out in a search operation.
Broadcasts offered a $60,000 bounty for his capture as Iran claimed a propaganda victory in shooting down the US jet.
Reports also surfaced late on Friday of a US A-10 Warthog, a close air support attack plane, crashing near the Strait of Hormuz. US officials said the pilot had been rescued.
Donald Trump declined to say what he would do if the missing airman was harmed.
In an interview with The Independent, he said: “Well, I can’t comment on it because – we hope that’s not going to happen.”
The incident occurred as the US and Israel continued to hit targets across Iran on Friday after Mr Trump pledged to bomb the country “back to the Stone Age”.
Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, one of the Islamic Republic’s most prominent institutions, was struck during air strikes on the north of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
Peace talks collapse Mr Trump has escalated the war on Iran in recent days, repeatedly striking civilian targets such as bridges and medical institutions.
Tehran has called the attacks a “crime against humanity” and retaliated by hitting targets across the Gulf and in Israel. It hit a desalination plant in Kuwait early on Friday that is essential to providing drinking water to the country’s civilian population. An oil refinery that supplies jet fuel to the UK was also struck. In response to the attack, Sir Keir Starmer’s office said that Britain would deploy its Rapid Sentry air defence system to the country to help protect British and Kuwaiti interests.
Peace talks aimed at ending the conflict collapsed on Friday, with reports that negotiators in Pakistan had hit a “dead end”.
It follows Mr Trump sending Iran a 14-point plan to end the war that was deemed “unrealistic” by the regime, whose negotiating position has strengthened since it exercised control over the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the US president said peace negotiations would not be affected by the plane being shot down, NBC news reported.
Asked whether the talks would suffer, Mr Trump said: “No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war.”
Reports of the downing of the US fighter jet surfaced on Friday morning. Images of the wreckage suggest it was a US F-15E fighter jet of the type normally based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. F-15E Strike Eagle Origin US Type Fighter jet Speed Mach 2.5 + Range 3,840km Crew 2 Cost $31.1m One photograph, which has not been verified, showed the text “US Air Forces in Europe” on the jet’s tail fin.
The F-15 is not as advanced as the new F-35 fighter jet, but it is believed to have been widely used for offensive operations over Iran in the past few weeks. If the downed jet flew from a UK base, it may raise difficult questions for Sir Keir, who has said that British bases are only being used by the US military for “defensive” operations.
Shortly after reports of the jet being downed, the anchor of an Iranian TV channel told viewers: “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize.”
An on-screen message separately urged the public to “shoot them if you see them”, referring to footage of US search and rescue aircraft in the area. The US lost three fighter jets in the first days of the war to friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defence systems, but it is the first time Iran has downed a US military jet since the war started on Feb 28.
The loss of the jet and the search for the missing airman is a blow to the Pentagon, which has claimed air superiority over Iran.
Mona Yacoubian, the director of the Middle East programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told The Telegraph the incident could lead to an escalation of the war.
“If there are images that are broadcast of US fighter pilots taken hostage, captured as prisoners, that’s going to elevate the challenges in the US domestically, because now you’re going to have this conflict brought home even more personally, into people’s living rooms, on their computer screens,” she said. Elsewhere, an Egyptian citizen was killed and four people injured after debris from an intercepted attack fell on Abu Dhabi’s Habshan gas facilities.
“Significant damage has occurred at the facilities and an assessment is ongoing,” Abu Dhabi’s media office said.
New strikes on Israel In Israel, missile salvos from both Iran, and Hezbollah in Lebanon sent people running for shelters, a daily occurrence for the past five weeks.
Iran fired three salvos of missiles at Israel on Friday, targeting the central and Haifa regions of the country, with cluster munitions that scattered over wide areas. Some damage to property was reported.
There appears little obvious prospect of hostilities coming to an end quickly. The Wall Street Journal reported that mediation efforts led by regional powers including Pakistan had reached a dead end.
Iran has told mediators that it is unwilling to meet US officials in Islamabad in the coming days and considers US demands unacceptable, the newspaper reported.
It added that Turkey and Egypt were looking at alternative sites to host the talks, such as Qatar or Istanbul.
Iran allowed a French ship through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. The Kribi is a Malta-flagged ship owned by French logistics company CMA CGM.
It is one of a number of ships that Iran has allowed to pass in recent days. They belong to nations that have either played no part in the war or which have moved to prevent the US using their airspace or bases. The move came a day after Emmanuel Macron openly criticised Mr Trump.
|