mm-news-@dmin Iranian officials call on civilians to be on the lookout for survivors
In a significant development, a US fighter jet shot down over Iran has prompted urgent search efforts for the crew, according to a US official.
- Iran threatens an increase in attacks on energy sites in the region.
- whoever captured the crew “would be specially commended”.
- Israel’s military reports new missile salvo from Iran.
A US fighter jet was shot down over Iran, and a search and rescue operation was underway for any survivors, a US official told Reuters on Friday, in the first such known incident since the US launched its war with Iran on February 28.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer further details.
The Pentagon and US Central Command did not respond to requests for comment.
The prospect of US pilots being alive and on the run inside Iran during an ongoing conflict greatly raises the stakes for the United States in the conflict. Iranian officials called on civilians to be on the lookout for survivors.
The governor of Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province said whoever captured or killed the crew “would be specially commended,” according to the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA.
The war started more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.
“Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today,” Iran’s Fars news agency said.
The report of the downed jet came as fresh strikes hit Israel, Iran, and Gulf countries. Large blasts rocked northern Tehran Friday afternoon, an AFP journalist said. It was not immediately clear what was hit.
Earlier, Israel’s military reported a new missile salvo from Iran, activating its air defences.
Strikes by all sides have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and deepening the conflict’s impact beyond the battlefield.
The Iranian fire came as Trump said the US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!” on his Truth Social platform, after the United States struck Iran’s tallest bridge.
About 70% of Iran’s steel production capacity, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday, after Iran’s two largest steel plants earlier this week said they were forced out of action by several waves of US and Israeli air attacks.
