US Almost Did Not Rescue Its F-15 Airman Thinking It Was An Iranian Trap

Navy SEAL Team 6 special operations troops went into the mountains of Iran on Saturday night to rescue the missing US F-15 airman. But before that, the mission came close to never launching at all.

US President Donald Trump told Axios that when a radio message came through from the stranded weapons systems officer of the downed F-15E, US officials initially suspected it was an Iranian deception designed to lure American forces into a trap.

Trump told the US news outlet the airman sent a short, unusual message after ejecting from the aircraft. "He said: 'Power be to God.'" 

After the radio message came through, they suspected he might already be in Iranian custody and that the Iranians were "sending false signals" to draw US forces in.

Trump also said the US military had "beeping information" about the officer's location, which was being tracked even as doubts about the radio message grew.

As per the report, people who knew the officer confirmed he was a religious person.

"Thousands Were Hunting Him Down"

The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over southwestern Iran on Friday, the first confirmed loss of a US combat aircraft inside Iran since the war began on 28 February. Both crew members ejected. The pilot was recovered shortly after, but the weapons systems officer could not be immediately located.

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Speaking to Axios an hour after confirming the rescue, Trump said that "thousands of these savages were hunting him down."

"Even the population was looking for him. They offered people a bonus if they captured him," he said.

Trump said Iran shot down the F-15 using a shoulder-fired missile, adding, "They got lucky."

The crew member survived more than 24 hours in the mountains while wounded before being rescued in a special forces operation on Saturday. Around 200 soldiers from special operations units participated in the rescue, Trump said.

How The CIA Bought Time

Before the airman's location was confirmed, the CIA launched a deception campaign of its own, spreading word inside Iran that US forces had already found him and were attempting a ground extraction. The aim was to buy time and throw Iranian search teams off course.

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The CIA used what officials described as "unique capabilities" to track the airman as he moved through mountainous terrain and avoided locals. Once his precise location was pinpointed, it was shared with the White House, the Pentagon and the US military, and a special forces team was inserted nearby on Saturday night.

According to the New York Times, Navy SEAL Team 6 commandos led the rescue, with hundreds of special operations troops and other military personnel operating deep inside Iranian territory. US aircraft dropped bombs and opened fire on Iranian convoys to keep them away from the airman's position. 

Iran Says The Operation Failed

Iran's military denied that the rescue took place. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military's central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, said the US operation had been "completely foiled."

"The so-called US military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled," he said in a video statement on state television.

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