Overview
- - A U.S. fighter was reported down inside Iran on Friday, with a U.S. official telling Reuters a search-and-rescue was underway for any survivors.
- - Iranian outlets claimed a stealth F-35, but wreckage photos circulated by state media match features of an F-15E Strike Eagle tied to the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath.
- - The fate of the aircrew remains unknown as Iranian state TV urged residents to capture any pilot for a reward and, in one crawl, told viewers to shoot if they saw them near reported crash areas in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari.
- - Tasnim reported low-flying U.S. Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 over central and southwest Iran in a rescue effort, while the Pentagon and CENTCOM had not issued full public confirmation.
- - The incident unfolds in the fifth week of fighting that began Feb. 28, after prior Iranian shoot-down claims were disputed and following earlier U.S. aircraft losses to friendly fire in Kuwait, raising the risk of escalation if U.S. personnel are captured.