Iran downs American jet, pilot reportedly recovered by US
According to US media, the plane was an F-15E fighter, which is crewed by a pilot and a weapons-systems officer in the back seat.
A US jet has been downed by Iran, and US forces have rescued one of the crew, major US media outlets reported after Iranian media aired footage of aircraft wreckage.
Axios and CBS News, citing unidentified sources, reported on Friday that one of the two crew on the plane had already been rescued by US special forces but that the search was ongoing for the second crew member.
According to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the plane was an F-15E fighter, which is crewed by a pilot and a weapons-systems officer in the back seat.
CNN also said that analysis of what Iranian media said were photos of the wreckage showed an F-15, rather than an F-35 stealth fighter, as claimed in some Iranian reports.
US media reported that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation.
“President Trump has been briefed,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told CNN.
The F-35 is a single-seat jet, and all three operational variants are designed for one pilot only, while the F-15E and F-15EX variants of the F-15 jet are often two-seaters and thus may have two crew members.
Iranian claims
Earlier, Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) claimed that it shot down a US F-35 jet in central parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Iranian state TV reported that whoever catches the pilot alive and reports it to the authorities will be rewarded.
Iran's Fars news agency earlier reported the army had launched a search for the pilot of a US fighter jet hit by an air defence system.
"Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today," Fars said.
Iranian media also reported that the US forces dispatched several Black Hawk helicopters as well as a Hercules 130 for the search and rescue of the pilot.
The efforts of the US forces were "unsuccessful", Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency claimed on its Telegram channel, citing unspecified sources.
A local television station also aired footage of what it said was the wreckage of a downed US jet.
It said the aircraft was targeted over central Iran and may have gone down in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, citing a police statement.
The statement also urged residents of the area to join the hunt for the pilot or pilots, offering a bounty for the capture of any US servicemen.
US Central Command on Thursday rejected Iran’s claim that it had shot down a US fighter jet over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The denial came after the IRGC said it downed an "enemy" fighter jet over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since Israel and the US launched attacks against Iran on February 28.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage, while disrupting global markets and aviation.