US and Iran search for American pilot after warplane is downed

Two US warplanes have been brought down over Iran and the Gulf, according to Iranian and US officials, in a dramatic setback that left two pilots rescued and a third still missing as Tehran’s forces scour the area.

The losses underscore the dangers still confronting US and Israeli aircraft operating over Iran, despite repeated claims by US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that allied forces had established complete control of the skies.

The first aircraft, a two-seat US F-15E fighter jet, was shot down by Iranian fire, officials from both sides said.

The second, an A-10 Warthog attack aircraft, was also struck by Iranian fire before crashing over Kuwait, with its pilot managing to eject, two US officials said.

The extent of the crew members’ injuries was not immediately clear.

The condition and location of the missing F-15E crew member have not been made public.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was searching an area in southwestern Iran near the crash site, while the provincial governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed “forces of the hostile ‌enemy”.

Iranian state media has released images it said show fragments of a downed US fighter jet

Across Iran, where residents have endured weeks of US air strikes, social media filled with jubilant reactions celebrating the downing of the aircraft.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X that the US and Israeli campaign had been “downgraded from regime change” to a manhunt for their own pilots.

President Trump was at the White House receiving updates on the search-and-rescue effort, a senior administration official told Reuters.

The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The possibility that a US service member could still be alive and evading capture inside Iran sharply raises the pressure on Washington in a war that has little public backing and no obvious end in sight.

Iran has formally told mediators it is not ready to meet US ‌officials in Islamabad in the coming days, and Pakistan-led efforts to broker a ceasefire have stalled, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

The US and Israel launched the campaign with a sweeping wave of strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February.

The ⁠war has already claimed thousands of lives and threatened to inflict long-term harm on the global economy.

So far, 13 US military service members have been killed in the conflict and more than 300 wounded, according ‌to US Central Command.

Iran has responded by launching drones and missiles at Israel.

It has also targeted Gulf states aligned with Washington, ⁠though those countries have so far stopped short of entering the war directly for fear of widening the conflict.

In a security alert issued yesterday, the US embassy in Beirut warned that Iran and allied armed groups could target universities in Lebanon and urged US citizens to leave while commercial flights remain available.

Donald Trump threatened to hit ⁠Iranian bridges and powerplants

At the same time, Israel has pursued a parallel offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon after the group fired on Israel in support of Tehran.

As Mr Trump threatened yesterday to strike ⁠Iran’s bridges and powerplants, Iran hit a power and water facility in Kuwait, highlighting the vulnerability of Gulf states that depend heavily on desalination plants for drinking water.

On Thursday, Mr Trump posted video on social media showing dust ⁠and smoke rising as US strikes hit the newly built B1 bridge linking Tehran and nearby Karaj, a route that had been scheduled to open this year.

He said additional attacks were coming.

“Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!” he wrote in a subsequent post.

A drone also struck a Red Crescent relief warehouse in the Choghadak area of Iran’s southern Bushehr province yesterday.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said drones had hit its Mina al-Ahmadi refinery.

Other incoming attacks were reportedly intercepted in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Missile debris fell near the Israeli port city of Haifa, home to a major oil refinery.

Oil markets were closed after benchmark US crude jumped 11% on Thursday following a speech ‌by Mr Trump that gave no clear indication the war was nearing an end.