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5 Apr 2026, 13:41

On Sunday, Iranian state media and news agencies published images of the wreckage of American helicopters and destroyed aircraft following the "successful operation to rescue the second American pilot from Iranian territory."

Previously, The New York Times reported that the U.S. military bombed at least one C-130 aircraft after it landed in Iran and evacuated its crew from the site. Iranian media claim that two Black Hawk helicopters were also destroyed during this operation. The Islamic Republic's police had previously announced that the U.S. C-130 was shot down by the police's special forces unit.

On Sunday, April 15, The New York Times reported on the rescue operation of the American F-15 fighter jet pilot in Iran, citing a senior U.S. military official about the destruction of two U.S. transport aircraft to prevent Iranian forces from accessing them.

The report stated that after the rescue of the U.S. Air Force officer, two transport planes meant to transfer the commandos and pilot to a safe location were grounded at a remote base in Iran. "Commanders decided to send three new aircraft to the area to evacuate all U.S. military personnel and the pilot. They also blew up two disabled aircraft to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands."

According to this report, the senior U.S. official described the mission to rescue the pilot as one of the "most difficult and complex" operations in the history of U.S. special forces, considering the mountainous terrain, the injuries sustained by the F-15 pilot, and the urgency of Iranian forces reaching the site.

Axios reported on Sunday, April 16, citing a senior CIA official, that during the rescue operation of the second downed F-15 pilot in Iran, an initial deception campaign was launched to mislead Iranian forces and officials.

Barak David, the author of the report, wrote that the CIA spread the rumor that American forces had found the pilot and were conducting a ground transfer of this military personnel from Iran. This U.S. intelligence official stated that the CIA utilized its unique capabilities to search for and locate this officer. He emphasized: "This was a clear case of finding a needle in a haystack; but in this case, it was about a brave American soul in a mountain crevice that was invisible without the CIA's capabilities."

According to this official, "the CIA immediately informed the Pentagon, the military, and the White House of the pilot's exact location. The President ordered an immediate rescue operation, and the Pentagon executed it while the CIA continued to provide real-time information to support this mission."

The account attributed to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, on Sunday, April 16, after the news of the rescue of the second F-15 pilot, described this operation as another failure for the U.S.

Qalibaf shared images of the wreckage of the destroyed C-130 aircraft near Isfahan, writing: "If the U.S. achieves three more victories like this, it will be completely destroyed."

The head of Yasouj University of Medical Sciences stated on Sunday, April 16, that in the attack on Saturday night by the "enemy," which occurred in the Koohe Siyah area near the city of Dehdasht in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, five local residents were killed and eight were injured.

According to the news agency Mizan, in the continuation of the "enemy's attacks last night" in the Vazg and Kakan areas of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, four more people have been killed. It is unclear whether these individuals were military personnel or those referred to by the government as "popular mobilization forces."

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