Iran has shot down an F-15 US fighter jet as one pilot was rescued, US media reports.
Earlier, two sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that a search and rescue effort was under way for a downed US F-15 fighter jet in southern Iran. It’s not known what has happened to the second crew member.
Iran’s state media claim Iranian forces shot down the plane, and BBC Verify has confirmed a video showing what appears to be a US plane accompanied by two helicopters flying over Khuzestan province
US President Donald Trump “has been briefed”, according to the White House.
Officials are expected to face questions about the circumstances of the incident.
US officials, including Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have repeatedly said Iran’s air defence capabilities have been destroyed in the conflict.
Also Read: US fires Army Chief of Staff, two generals fighting Iran
A confirmed shoot-down of a fighter jet would immediately raise questions about Iran’s ability and willingness to continue the fight, and the threat it might pose to US personnel and aircraft over the country.
It’s the first known case of a US fighter jet being shot down over Iran during this conflict, our foreign correspondent writes, and comes after Trump claimed Iran “can’t do a thing” about US planes flying over it
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Israeli strikes have destroyed 70% of Iran’s steel production capacity – and says Israel and the US will continue to “crush” the country.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has mocked the US on his X account after reports that an American fighter jet was shot down over Iran.
“After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’,” a post on Ghalibaf’s account says.
Trump said on 31 March that there has been regime change in Iran, saying the new crop of Iranian leaders are “much less radicalised” and more “rational”.
Ghalibaf has also sarcastically posted, “Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses.”
His account has been very active recently, posting occasional memes, while he was last seen on state TV on 17 March.
Some unconfirmed reports suggested the Trump administration was considering Ghalibaf as a potential partner and possibly even a future leader.
BBC
