A search is underway for a U.S. service member who went missing after an F-15E fighter jet was shot down over southwestern Iran on Friday. According to the BBC, one crew member was rescued, while efforts continue to locate the second, a weapons systems officer.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II, also known as the Warthog, also went down in the Persian Gulf region near the Strait of Hormuz around the same time Friday. Its lone pilot was rescued. Iranian state media said the aircraft was hit by Iranian air defenses, while U.S. officials have not confirmed whether it was brought down by enemy fire or crashed for another reason.
This was reportedly the first time U.S. combat aircraft were shot down by enemy fire in over 20 years, and the first time such losses were reported since the war with Iran began on Feb. 28. This comes as Trump said in his national address last Thursday, that the U.S. and Israel have “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”
Saturday morning, Trump took to Truth Social stating that he’s now giving Iran 48 hours to make a deal or open up the Strait of Hormuz, even though in his national address he also said the U.S. imports almost no oil through the Strait of Hormuz and that we don’t even need it.
