A brave F-15 airman was rescued during an audacious mission involving hundreds of SEAL Team 6 commandos and deceiving Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intel as he battled for his life atop a 7,000-foot ridge.
The unidentified airman, who President Donald Trump has described as a ‘brave warrior’, got trapped behind enemy lines after the fighter jet was shot down over a remote area of Iran on Friday.
A pilot who was with him safely ejected the aircraft and was rescued by two military helicopters that same day, but the airman remained missing.
He managed to evade Iranians for nearly two days by climbing the tall, narrow mountain while American MQ-9 Reaper drones hovered overhead, shooting missiles at Iranian forces as they got too close to him.
The airman, a weapons system officer, only had a handgun to protect himself and was left ‘seriously injured’ after being thrown out of the F-15.
Following the crash, Iranianok military forces put a $60,000 bounty on the airman’s head, prompting Iranian militants to hunt for him in the mountains.
CIA agents then planted fake intel that the airman had already been rescued and driven out of Iran, The New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, US military officials had received ‘beeping information’ about the airman’s location, but a radio message threw them off, making them think Iranians were ‘sending false signals’ and trying to draw American forces into a trap, Trump told Axios.
According to the president, after he was ejected from the plain, the airman said: ‘Power be to God,’ but it was later confirmed by a US defense official that the exact phrase was: ‘God is good.’
‘What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,’ Trump continued, adding that those who know the officer said he is a religious person.
An F-15 airman was rescued in a daring mission on Saturday evening after the fighter jet was shot down by Iranian forces. The pilot was safely ejected and rescued by two military helicopters that same day, but the airman remained missing
Hundreds of SEAL Team 6 commandos and fake CIA intel helped get him to safety. The airman also bravely climbed a 7,000-foot ridge to fight for his life
Following the crash, Iranian military forces put a $60,000 bounty on the airman’s head, prompting Iranian militants to hunt for him in the mountains. (Pictured: Bakhtiari tribes in Khuzestan headed into the mountains, rifles in hand, searching for the missing American F-15 jet pilot)
The airman was referred to as a ‘valuable package’ that they were trying to move ‘out of the country through a maritime exfil,’ a senior US official told Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
‘This was meant to draw Iranians away from the area where the US crew member was located. The deception campaign worked,’ the official added.
The agency ultimately discovered where the airman was hiding out and passed the vital information along to the Pentagon, sparking his heroic rescue.
The daring Saturday night rescue mission took commandos, or elite trained soldiers, into the heart of enemy territory.
After a firefight broke out between US troops and local militias, he and the commandos were brought to safety, per the Times.
However, two transport planes and one helicopter became stuck in the mud and were unable to take off, leaving more military personnel stranded behind enemy lines as Basij fighters closed in on their botched rescue site.
Three more transport planes were flown in to evacuate the downed airman and the rescue party, as they were evacuated under gunfire from the advancing Iranians.
Miraculously, US forces escaped, and a rescue plane flew the injured airman to Kuwait for medical treatment. There were no US casualties.
As they left, US troops were forced to ‘blow up’ their own stricken planes and helicopters, to prevent them falling into the hands of the Iranian military.
On Saturday evening, Trump confirmed the airman was rescued safely, posting to Truth Social: ‘WE GOT HIM!’ The president described him as a ‘brave warrior’
It was a move likely to have cost millions of dollars to the US military and showed the urgency of the US forces to evacuate under extreme pressure.
On Saturday evening, Trump confirmed the airman was rescued safely, posting to Truth Social: ‘WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!
‘This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue.’
Trump touted the operation further, calling it ‘one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History’.
The president posted about the airman again on Sunday, praising the successful mission and announcing he will be holding a news conference about the rescue on Monday at 1pm alongside members of the US military in the Oval Office.
He added: ‘Bless our great MILITARY WARRIORS!’
Right after, Trump shared a foul-mouthed post threatening Iran as the war rages on.
‘Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,’ he wrote.
‘There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F***in’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP.’
The president’s latest threat comes just days after US-Israeli air strikes destroyed Iran’s tallest bridge, killing eight people.
The B1 bridge, which links Iran’s capital with the western city of Karaj, was targeted in two waves of strikes on Thursday after Trump said he would bomb Tehran ‘back to the Stone Age’.
The second attack on the 136-metre structure took place while rescue forces were at the scene helping at least 95 injured people, Iranian state media claimed.
Now, Trump said Iran’s power plants will be bombed next if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
Pictured: The ejected seat from the US aircraft as published in Iranian media
The narrow and vital waterway that is used as a high-volume shipping route has been closed since the war broke out on February 28, with Iran vowing to block ‘enemy’ ships from getting through ever since.
As tensions continue to rise between America and Iran, Trump has been holed up inside the White House ‘working nonstop’ during the holiday weekend, White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a X post on Saturday.
His last public appearance was on Wednesday when he visited the Supreme Court as it heard a birthright citizenship case. Later that night, he delivered an address to the nation on the war with Iran.
