Iran Says US Rescue Mission for Downed Airman ‘Completely Foiled’

Iran’s military announced on Sunday that a United States operation to rescue an airman from a downed fighter jet had been “completely foiled,” without indicating that the officer had been captured.

The statement came after US President Donald Trump confirmed earlier on Sunday that the officer had been rescued in a search and rescue operation and was “SAFE and SOUND.”

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military’s central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said the US mission was planned as a deception and escape operation at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft.

In a video statement aired on state television, Zolfaghari claimed that two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed during the operation. He added that Trump engaged in empty rhetoric and diversion, insisting that the reality on the ground demonstrates the superior position of Iran’s armed forces.

State media shared images of charred wreckage scattered across a desert area, with smoke still rising from the site. Iranian media also reported that strikes during the rescue operation killed five people in the southwest, though it was not immediately clear whether the casualties were civilians or military personnel.

Since Friday, Iranian media has aired footage showing local residents, some carrying flags and rifles, searching for the aviator after authorities offered a bounty for information.