A pilot has been rescued after a U.S. warplane was shot down over Iran, while search operations continue for a second, according to U.S. and Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity, confirming Iran's claims that it shot a fighter jet.
Axios and CBS News, citing unidentified sources, reported that one of the two crew on the plane had already been rescued by U.S. special forces but that the search was ongoing for the second crew member.
The rescue occurred as the U.S. military was conducting a search and rescue operation, according to three people familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitivity of the situation. Israel is helping the United States with the operation.
Iranian state media has claimed in a post on X that Iran's military shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle.
According to an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. military said that it received notification of "an aircraft being shot down" in the Middle East. The email did not provide more details.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a previous statement that President Donald Trump had been briefed but did not offer any additional information.
The number of crew on board wasn't immediately known.
U.S. media reported that a search-and-rescue operation was underway by specialized U.S. forces, following what would be the first known loss of a jet inside Iran since Trump ordered the war.
Photos and video circulating on social media and Iranian news outlets were cited by major U.S. media outlets as showing U.S. helicopters and other aircraft flying at low altitude over the presumed site of the downed fighter jet.
