(Bloomberg) — Iran shot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet, and the U.S. rescued one of the two-man crew, according to a U.S. official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to clarify sensitive matters, said a search and rescue operation was underway for the other crew member.
The first known combat loss of a US fighter jet would mark a significant escalation in the five-week war that has already sparked a global energy crisis.
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident, the White House announced Friday. US Central Command did not respond to an earlier request for comment on the downed plane.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency carried a report on Friday that claimed Iran had shot down a “highly advanced American fighter jet.”
Iranian state media has previously claimed to have shot down American planes, which the US has denied. The Pentagon’s Central Command on Thursday dismissed claims by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that it had shot down an enemy fighter jet over an island in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Iranian IRGC has made the same false claim at least half a dozen times,” the central command said in a social media post.
Iran targeted other sites in the Gulf Arab states by Friday, hours after Trump issued fresh threats against Iranian infrastructure to force Tehran to open peace talks. On Thursday, the US president posted a video of the bridge collapse on social media and warned that “many more will follow! unless Iran negotiates a deal.”
Iran remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying that strikes on civilian structures “will not force the Iranians to surrender.” There is no sign that the country will back down from US demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stop attacks, instead offering its own terms for a deal.
–With help from Courtney Subramanian.
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