{"id":364488,"date":"2026-04-05T06:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/364488\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T06:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T06:03:09","slug":"us-f-15-pilot-downed-in-iran-rescued","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/364488\/","title":{"rendered":"US F-15 pilot downed in Iran rescued"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Enas Alashray and Phil Stewart, for Reuters<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

\nA US F-15 fighter jet (file photo)
\nPhoto: Supplied\/ US Air Force\n<\/p>\n

Rescued airman is injured, and was from one of two warplanes Iran downed
\nTrump gives Iran 48 hours to open Strait of Hormuz
\nIsrael awaits US go-ahead to attack Iranian energy facilities<\/p>\n

The United States has rescued an airman whose F-15 jet was downed in Iran, US President Donald Trump says.<\/p>\n

Trump made the announcement, saying the airman was injured, but is expected to be fine.<\/p>\n

“The United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US 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,” Trump posted on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

The man was the second member of a two-person crew of an F-15 that Iran said on Friday was brought down by its air defences. The first member of the crew had been recovered earlier<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump and Israel today stepped up pressure on Iran<\/a> to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on energy facilities.<\/p>\n

Officials did not provide further details to Reuters late on Friday about the airman. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Trump has sent mixed messages ranging from hints of diplomatic progress to threats to bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages” since the US and Iran launched the war on Iran on 28 February.<\/p>\n

Trump, who has previously threatened to hit Iranian power plants if his demands were not met, told Tehran his latest deadline for a deal to end the war was fast approaching.<\/p>\n

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them. Glory be to GOD!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

The war has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatens lasting damage to the world economy after Iran virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n

– Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Enas Alashray and Phil Stewart, for Reuters A US F-15 fighter jet (file photo) Photo: Supplied\/ US…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[48,47,42,43,49,46,44,45,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-364488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-audio","9":"tag-current-affairs","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-podcasts","13":"tag-public-radio","14":"tag-radio-new-zealand","15":"tag-rnz","16":"tag-top-news","17":"tag-top-stories","18":"tag-topnews","19":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}