Trump to Detail Daring Rescue of U.S. Colonel Shot Down Over Iran

A U.S. Air Force Colonel spent more than 24 hours hiding in a mountain crevice in Iran's Zagros Mountains while hundreds of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers combed the terrain above him, with Iran offering a $60,000 reward to any citizen who could locate him. President Trump detailed the rescue operation that brought the officer home alive at a 1 p.m. news conference Monday in the Brady Press Briefing Room, appearing alongside military officials.

The colonel was a weapons systems officer aboard an F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing, based at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. The aircraft was shot down during a night mission over Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in southwestern Iran on April 3. Both crew members ejected; the pilot was recovered within hours, but Trump withheld public confirmation to avoid compromising the ongoing search for the WSO.

The CIA proved pivotal to the recovery. The agency launched a deception campaign inside Iran, spreading word that U.S. forces had already located the airman and were moving him for exfiltration. While Iranian commanders parsed conflicting reports, the agency tracked the colonel to his exact position and relayed coordinates to the Pentagon and the White House, prompting Trump to order an immediate rescue mission.

Navy SEALs, operating from a temporary forward operating base on an abandoned agricultural airstrip approximately 14 miles north of Shahreza City in southern Isfahan province, executed the recovery. Hundreds of special forces troops and dozens of aircraft were committed to the operation. Two MC-130J aircraft malfunctioned during exfiltration; U.S. forces destroyed both planes along with four helicopters before commandos and the wounded colonel transferred to three replacement aircraft. He was described as seriously wounded but expected to survive. After ejecting, he had radioed "God is good," a transmission that initially raised fears of capture before officials confirmed he had not been taken prisoner.

Trump announced the rescue on Truth Social just after midnight Sunday with "WE GOT HIM!" He called it "one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History" and described it as "an Easter miracle." Israel shared intelligence and postponed planned strikes to avoid disrupting the mission. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump on the "perfectly executed American mission," writing on X: "I am deeply proud that our cooperation on and off the battlefield is unprecedented, and that Israel could contribute to saving a brave American warrior."

Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander of U.S. Central Command, called the failed Iranian manhunt a "hard lesson for Iran." The downing of the F-15E marked the first time a U.S. fighter jet was shot down in combat in over 20 years, per retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell. At least four American jets were lost since the war began on February 28; three were downed by Kuwaiti air defenses in a friendly-fire incident on March 1 with no casualties.

Monday's news conference arrived on approximately Day 37 of the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, two days after Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum warning Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on power plants and bridges. That deadline falls Tuesday. Iran rejected the ultimatum, with senior officials stating the strait would remain closed until Tehran received payment for war damages. Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned Monday of "much more devastating" retaliation if civilian targets were struck. The strait carries roughly 20% of all global oil traffic, and its virtual closure has sent fuel prices skyrocketing worldwide. Oman held last-ditch talks with Tehran over the waterway while Pakistan and Egypt kept communication channels open between Washington and the Iranian government, leaving the diplomatic math unresolved as Trump stepped to the podium.