- Mechanical failure forced risky extraction and destruction of U.S. aircraft in Iran.
- The CIA carried out a campaign of deception, jamming electronic devices and bombing roads to aid in relief efforts.
- The aviator authenticated his identity to avoid a possible Iranian trap for the rescuers.
The rescue had been carried out with almost perfect precision. Under cover of darkness, American commandos slipped deep into Iran, undetected, scaled a 7,000-foot ridge and pulled a stranded American weapons specialist to safety, leading him to a secret meeting point before dawn on Sunday.
Then everything stopped.
Two MC-130 planes carrying around 100 special operations forces to rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and were unable to take off, a US official said. Reutersspeaking on condition of anonymity.
Suddenly, elite commandos were in danger of finding themselves trapped behind enemy lines.
Their commanders made a high-risk decision, ordering additional planes to fly into Iran to extract the group in waves — a decision that left the elite commandos waiting for a tense few hours.
“If there was ever a ‘shit’ moment, this is it,” said the official, who credits quick decision-making with saving the situation. The official and others who spoke to Reuters for this story were granted anonymity to speak candidly about the operation.
The bet succeeded. Relief forces were withdrawn in stages, and U.S. troops destroyed the MC-130s and four additional helicopters in Iran rather than risk leaving sensitive equipment behind.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The successful extraction ended one of the most perilous episodes in the five-week conflict, averting what could have been a catastrophic loss of American lives and easing a growing crisis for President Donald Trump as he weighs whether to escalate a war that has already killed thousands.
Downed pilot hits contact
The rescued U.S. weapons specialist was the second of two crew members of an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet that Iran said was hit by its air defenses. The U.S. official said the plane was flying over Isfahan province when it was shot down and the two airmen ejected separately. The pilot was rescued while the second airman remained in Iran.
U.S. air crews are trained in survival, evasion, resistance, and evasion (SERE) techniques if they are shot down behind enemy lines, but few are fluent in Persian and face the challenge of remaining undetected when seeking rescue.
A U.S. source familiar with some operational details said the U.S. officer, who Trump said had the rank of colonel, had sprained his ankle and hid in a crevice on top of a hill.
The official said the airman then made contact with the U.S. military and authenticated himself – a crucial step to ensure rescue forces did not fall into a trap.
The CIA had carried out a campaign of deception earlier, hoping to confuse Tehran by spreading information to Iran that U.S. forces had already located the missing airman and were moving him before the operation took place, a senior Trump administration official said.
But the U.S. military took additional measures, blocking electronic devices and bombing main roads around the site to prevent people from approaching, the U.S. source familiar with the matter said.
The source told Reuters that the planes ultimately sent to extract the airman and rescue forces were much smaller turboprop planes, capable of landing at small airfields and relatively light.
Throughout the operation, the White House, the Pentagon and the US military’s Central Command remained unusually silent. Trump was so relatively quiet that a local reporter went to check on him at Walter Reed Hospital.
Once the mission was accomplished, Trump triumphed.
“Over the past several hours, the United States military has conducted one of the most daring search and rescue operations in American history,” Trump said in a statement, adding that the airman was injured, but “he will be just fine.”
American plane hit
Initial search efforts were met with fierce resistance from Iran when they began Friday, after the F-15 pilot was initially rescued.
Reuters reported Friday that two Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search were hit by Iranian fire but escaped Iranian airspace.
In another incident, a pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter jet after it was struck over Kuwait and crashed, officials said, although the extent of the crew’s injuries was unclear.
The conflict killed 13 American soldiers and injured more than 300, according to the American Central Command. No American soldiers have been taken prisoner by Iran.
While Trump has repeatedly sought to portray Iran’s military as being in tatters, its ability to repeatedly strike U.S. aircraft is significant, military experts say.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Joint Military Command said Saturday that the military used a new air defense system to target a U.S. fighter jet on Friday.
Reuters first reported U.S. intelligence showing Iran has extensive missile and drone capabilities.
Until a little over a week ago, the United States could only determine with certainty that it had destroyed about a third of Iran’s missile arsenal.
The status of about another third was less clear, but the bombing likely damaged, destroyed or buried those missiles in underground tunnels and bunkers, Reuters sources said.
Appearing relieved after the successful rescue, Trump used harsh language Sunday to threaten Tehran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil flows vital to the global economy.
