New details emerged tonight about a high-risk U.S. operation to recover an American airman after his F-15 was downed over Iran, even as President Trump intensified public threats toward Tehran. White House sources and U.S. officials told CBS News the rescue involved dozens of commandos supported by several dozen warplanes and helicopters in a complex, multi-hour mission.
Officials say the operation included C-130 transport aircraft that were later destroyed by U.S. forces on the ground to prevent their capture — a standard military precaution. Video circulating this morning reportedly shows smoldering wreckage at a remote Iranian base. Attack helicopters and other aircraft kept Iranian forces from reaching the area where the U.S. crewman was concealed.
U.S. sources described armed Iranians scouring the mountainous terrain for the downed airman, encouraged by reports of a substantial reward. A Trump administration official told CBS the CIA played a major role, both in the on-the-ground effort and in a deception campaign inside Iran suggesting that U.S. forces had already recovered the airman by ground transport.
The search began Friday. The pilot was located and rescued within hours, authorities said, and suffered some injuries. President Trump said the second crew member remains seriously wounded.
The jet was shot down amid an intense U.S. bombing campaign across Iran, including the destruction of what U.S. forces described as a major bridge linking Tehran to other key cities; Iranian officials say more than a dozen people were killed in those strikes. Iran has responded with missile attacks across the region — U.S. and regional officials report strikes on targets in the Gulf area and an incident that damaged a residential building in Haifa, Israel — and retaliatory actions against facilities in Iraq.
President Trump has publicly escalated his rhetoric, posting a profanity-laced message demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz and warning of severe consequences, language that both underscored the administration’s pressure campaign and drew international attention. He also posted a closing phrase invoking ‘‘Praise be Allah.’’
Tonight Iran remained defiant and continued missile launches, according to regional reports. U.S. officials say the rescue was carefully timed and heavily supported to minimize further casualties and to prevent the airman from falling into Iranian hands.
The White House announced a press conference tomorrow afternoon in the Oval Office with military officials, where additional details about the rescue operation will be provided.
Charlie D’Agata, reporting from London, contributed to this account.