High-stakes US special forces mission rescues airman from Iran after F-15 crash

U.S. forces staged the audacious rescue of an airman behind enemy lines after Iran downed his fighter jet, officials said on Sunday, resolving a crisis for President Donald Trump as he weighs escalating the war, now in its sixth week.



The airman rescued by special operations forces, who Trump said was a colonel, was the weapons-systems officer on the downed F-15, a U.S. official told Reuters.



"Over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History," Trump said in a statement, adding that the airman was injured but "he will be just fine."



The officer was the second of two crew members on the warplane that Iran said on Friday had been brought down by its air defenses. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said several aircraft were destroyed during the U.S. rescue mission, Tasnim news agency reported.



Reuters reported on Friday that the first crew member had been retrieved, triggering a high-profile search by both Iran and the United States for the remaining airman.



Iranian officials had urged citizens to help find him, hoping to gain leverage against Washington in the war Trump and Israel launched on February 28.



Trump has threatened to escalate the conflict in the coming days with attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure.