Inside the US Rescue Missions in Iran

[0:00] It's Monday, April 6th, a dangerous weekend in the skies over Iran. [0:05] We start here. [0:06] An American fighter jet gets shot down, prompting a daring search and rescue operation. [0:13] On a ridge line in a mountain close to where he had landed with his ejection seat. [0:17] We've got the story of how those crew members were rescued [0:20] and what it could mean for the future of the war. [0:23] President Trump has long railed against mail-in voting. [0:26] The new attempt here tries to kind of get around what blocked his efforts in the past. [0:30] We'll tell you whether the administration's latest challenge [0:33] has any chance of holding up in court. [0:35] And ahead of what promises to be a historic day for NASA's mission to the moon. [0:40] I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board. [0:44] The crew of the Artemis II calls a plumber. [0:47] From ABC News, this is Start Here. [0:50] I'm Mike Daboski. [0:51] Hey there, Brad's out today, but I've got you covered in the meantime. [0:59] For weeks, the war in Iran has been all about these big, [1:04] wide-scale strikes on infrastructure, [1:07] or those boats [1:08] and their crews in the Strait of Hormuz, [1:10] or a bunch of troops being deployed to the Middle East. [1:13] But this weekend, the entire story of this war [1:16] really zeroed in on one rescue mission. [1:20] Two crew members on board their F-15 Strike Eagle [1:23] was shot down over western Iran. [1:25] On Friday, military authorities said an American fighter plane [1:28] had been shot down by Iranian forces. [1:30] Both crew members aboard that F-15 ejected, [1:33] parachuting down into enemy territory. [1:35] The two men ejected [1:37] just milliseconds apart, [1:39] which means they would have been generally in the same area, [1:42] yet could still have been separated by miles. [1:45] One of those service members was rescued hours later on Friday, [1:49] but the other remained missing for more than a day. [1:52] Well, early Sunday morning, President Trump posted to social media [1:54] that that missing service member had been rescued. [1:57] So let's bring in ABC's senior Pentagon reporter, Louie Martinez. [2:00] Louie, this sounded like a really dangerous search and rescue operation [2:03] that played out this weekend. [2:05] Can you just walk us through how this all unfolded? [2:07] Well, Michael, what we do know is that an F-15 was shot down [2:10] by some kind of an air defense missile. [2:12] Both pilots were able to eject safely. [2:14] Now, one was able to be located at some point by a rescue mission, [2:20] and the other one, as we now know, was hidden for quite some time. [2:25] What happened with that first pilot? [2:26] Well, at some point, what we know is the standard procedure [2:30] is that there's going to be a beacon that accompanies every ejection seat. [2:33] Now, we saw a picture released by the Iranians that looked to be [2:37] an empty ejection seat, and the question was, where was the pilot? [2:42] Well, if they're using their training, they're out there hiding. [2:44] They're trying to figure out where they can be picked up, [2:47] and that's when what's called CSAR comes into play. [2:50] That's Combat Search Air and Rescue. [2:55] What we ended up seeing were those videos that showed what's called [2:57] a KC-130 refueling plane and these two Pave Hawk helicopters, [3:03] which are typically staffed by Air Force personnel. [3:06] And they are the ones that went in, [3:08] very quickly got that first pilot out. [3:11] But it wasn't an easy operation because we know that once they rescued that pilot, [3:16] they took off and they took incoming Iranian fire that damaged both aircraft. [3:20] Now, both aircraft were able to make it back to their base, [3:23] but there were injuries aboard that aircraft. [3:26] And as part of that search and rescue package, you also need security up in the skies. [3:32] There were some A-10, a Warthog. [3:35] That's the nickname for that aircraft. [3:37] The A-10 was providing close air. [3:39] The A-10 was providing close air support. [3:41] And again, another inbound missile brought down that aircraft. [3:45] And so it was hit inside of Iran, but the pilot was able to maneuver the plane safely [3:51] across the border into Kuwait, where he ejected just before the plane crashed. [3:55] And then that pilot was also rescued by a CSAR team. [3:59] So it was a very complicated mission just to get that one pilot. [4:02] But then the mystery was, what's happening with the second pilot? [4:06] Right. [4:06] And then eventually we learned from President Trump, [4:09] that the U.S. military was able to locate that person. [4:12] How did that rescue operation come together, Louis? [4:14] Well, Michael, if that first rescue operation wasn't complex enough, [4:17] what followed was even much more complex. [4:20] It included many aircraft, maybe hundreds of personnel, according to the president. [4:25] We now know that the CIA was able to assist in helping locate that crew member, [4:29] who was somewhere on a ridge line in a mountain close to where he had landed with his ejection seat. [4:39] And so the CIA was able to locate that U.S. service member, [4:42] now offering a $60,000 bounty for their capture. [4:46] The CIA bought some time in trying to locate this crew member. [4:49] What they did was they launched the disinformation campaign very quickly, [4:52] so that word spread inside of Iran that the crew member had already been located [4:58] and preparations were being made to evacuate him out of the country. [5:01] So there was all this conflicting information that Iranian government officials were getting. [5:05] And the CIA says that that bought them enough time, so that the crew member could get to where he was. [5:09] He needed to get to. [5:10] And what we do know now from the president is that he was seriously wounded at some point [5:14] as a part of that ejection from his plane. [5:17] Typically, any kind of operation, when it's complicated, takes place at night. [5:21] And that's what happened here. [5:23] The rescue mission extending into the second day. [5:25] The president saying they were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, [5:29] meticulously planning his rescue. [5:32] More than 40 hours after that crew member had ejected from his plane, [5:36] a rescue operation was underway. [5:40] To MC-132. [5:41] The first flight was a 30J aircraft. [5:43] Carried hundreds of personnel to an airstrip somewhere in Iran. [5:49] And then they launched what are known as these small special operations helicopters, [5:53] the little birds they're called. [5:55] And those little birds then flew from where they were, that airstrip, up towards the mountain area. [6:00] And then they rescued him from there and then brought him back to the airstrip. [6:04] But the really complicated factor was that those planes that brought everybody in could not take off, [6:09] because there were some mechanical difficulties. [6:11] There were hundreds of military personnel, special operations forces in an exposed area [6:17] behind enemy lines that nobody could get out until three new replacement aircraft came in. [6:22] But it's a really complicated operation. [6:25] Obviously, some things went wrong. [6:27] But at the same time, solutions were found and this crew member was able to be rescued. [6:32] And we learned that this individual was a high-ranking officer. [6:35] This was a colonel. [6:37] Not very typical to find a colonel flying on a mission like this. [6:41] Max Cedar, that he was the weapons systems officer. So a very complex operation. And as [6:46] the president said, it appeared that there were no injuries in the mission and that there were [6:51] more specifically that nobody was killed. Right. I think what strikes me about that, [6:55] Louie, is that there's so much adaptability, so much changing of the plan that happens over the [7:00] course of that operation. It's really kind of crazy to think about. But overall, in the space [7:04] of a few days, we've now seen two American planes get shot down. You also mentioned a number of [7:09] other aircraft from the United States that was damaged in this operation. [7:14] They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is 100 percent annihilated. [7:19] It was only last week that we heard President Trump say that Iran's anti-aircraft equipment [7:24] had been completely destroyed. Does this mean that Iran's ability to fight back is maybe a [7:29] little stronger than what the Trump administration had been expecting? [7:32] I think that's one of the assessments that people are making is that, yes, [7:35] Iran still maintains a lot of capability. They can still launch ballistic missiles. [7:39] To neighboring countries, now we know that they maintain some kind of air defense capability. [7:44] The question is, are these high-end air defense systems that are mounted, that are portable, [7:49] that can be brought out on short notice? If they see that there's a plane overhead and they're [7:54] using their radars, they can then track them and bring them down. Or is it something different? [7:58] Is it just a shoulder-fired missile, which we know the United States has and other countries [8:02] have and presumably the Iranians have as well? So was that what brought down these aircraft? [8:07] That's something that really remains an [8:09] unknown. But what we are seeing is the end result that you have two aircraft that were [8:14] brought down on the same day. And as a result of one plane going down, Michael, what you saw was [8:20] nine other aircraft that were either damaged or destroyed. Because when those two C-130s could [8:26] not take off, the United States then, the teams that were on the ground, they placed explosives, [8:31] they tried to destroy them so that the Iranians wouldn't capture them. There were bombs that [8:35] were dropped on them, so again, that they would not be captured. And then those four, [8:39] little bird helicopters, were also destroyed because they don't have the range capability [8:44] to fly back anywhere. And you've got, again, those two helicopters that were shot up when [8:50] they rescued that first pilot. And you've got the A-10 that went down. So a total of nine aircraft, [8:56] all involved in two rescue missions. And when you add it all up money-wise, [9:00] that's a significant amount of money. We're talking probably hundreds of millions of dollars [9:05] that were expended just in the equipment alone. But again, [9:09] you talk to U.S. military personnel, they always talk about how they're not going to leave anyone [9:13] behind. And it doesn't matter what the cost is. What's important is bringing back that service [9:18] member. This also does come against the backdrop of a lot of questions about the war that the Trump [9:24] administration is facing, including how long this conflict could go on for. President Trump issued [9:30] this new threat against Iran over the weekend as well. It was kind of full of expletives, [9:35] Louis, and this is a family-friendly podcast. So in broad strokes, can you tell us what the [9:40] president is saying here? And does this new warning have any teeth? [9:44] You are very accurate in your description of the president's colorful language. [9:48] But what he is essentially saying is he gave the Iranians an ultimatum, [9:52] clear the Strait of Hormuz, or within 48 hours, he was going to rain hell on Iran. But again, [9:57] is it really going to happen? Could this be just another negotiating tool to get the Iranians to [10:03] open up the Strait of Hormuz? Or is the United States military really on the cusp of a very [10:08] large operation that could target Iran? [10:10] Right. And we've seen these deadlines move on the part of the Trump administration in the past as [10:39] well. [10:40] Another deadline. Louis Martinez, thanks for explaining all that to me. I appreciate it. [10:44] Thanks for having me on, Michael. [10:47] Next up on Start Here, the Trump administration launches another attack on mail-in voting, [10:52] just months ahead of the midterm elections. We're back after the break. [11:00] Last month, President Trump voted in Florida's special election. Nothing surprising about that. [11:06] Presidents vote in elections all the time. But this particular vote was special because [11:10] the president voted by mail. [11:11] Because of the fact that I'm president of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for [11:17] the U.S. and the United States. And I voted for the U.S. and the United States. And I voted for [11:18] the United States. And I voted for the United States. And I voted for the United States. [11:18] Now, Trump has been claiming for years that mail-in voting is [11:21] rife with fraud, despite there being no real evidence that it is. In fact, last week, [11:26] the president signed a whole executive order about it, aimed at completely overhauling the [11:30] process of mail-in voting in this country. But that might be easier said than done. [11:36] ABC's Peter Haralambous is here to break this all down for us. Peter, [11:39] what exactly did this executive order say? [11:41] So this was really a multifaceted executive order that President Trump from the Oval [11:47] Office declared as foolproof. [11:48] I believe it's foolproof. And maybe it'll be tested. Maybe it won't. I think it's very [11:53] obvious what's said. [11:55] This is not the first time he's tried to regulate the process of voting. And the new attempt here [12:01] tries to kind of get around what blocked his efforts in the past. So first and foremost, [12:06] it tasks the Department of Homeland Security with creating basically a list of citizens who [12:10] are eligible to vote. And then it passes that list over to state election officials who are [12:15] told basically to enforce that list under threat of prosecution and also tells the post office [12:21] only to send ballots to people who are on that list. It orders the postmaster general, [12:26] the U.S. Postal Service, to take bold new measures to verify that ballots both being [12:32] sent to people are being sent to people who are eligible to vote and then the ballots being [12:36] returned or being properly returned by eligible voters only. [12:40] So, you know, Trump acknowledging the fact that his past executive order back [12:44] last March, he said, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [12:45] know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [12:46] know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [12:46] know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [12:46] know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [12:46] know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [12:47] know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't [13:15] days suing over this executive order. What is the argument against it? [13:20] That's exactly right. At this point, we're looking at at least five different federal [13:23] lawsuits challenging the legality of this executive order. And it really comes down [13:28] to what a state's right is in an election compared to the federal government's. [13:32] The Constitution makes it pretty clear. It says that states are responsible for the time, [13:36] place, and manner of elections, and that it isn't necessarily a manner for the federal government [13:40] unless it's an act passed by Congress. In this case, we're talking about an executive order [13:45] signed by the president, nothing that has the full blessing of Congress. [13:49] So if you look at these lawsuits, we're talking about a lawsuit filed by the Democratic National [13:54] Convention, as well as Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries. There's another one by the League [13:58] of Women Voters, another one by the League of United Latin American Citizens, another one [14:03] filed by 22 Democratic states, and finally a fifth one filed by the NAACP. All of them are [14:09] basically making the same general allegations here. I'll quote the one by the state attorney [14:15] general. [14:15] Neither the Constitution nor any act of Congress confers upon the president the authority to [14:21] mandate sweeping changes to states' electoral systems or procedures. They're basically saying [14:26] that this executive order is as unconstitutional as it is unprecedented. [14:31] So Peter, there's a provision in the Save America Act that is kind of broadly similar [14:36] to this from what we understand. What's the difference between the executive order and [14:40] what could potentially make its way through Congress? [14:42] I think when it comes to both the Save Act and this [14:45] executive order, you're looking at a very similar end goal accomplished through slightly [14:49] different means. The Save Act requires proof of citizenship when you register to vote and [14:54] then a voter ID when you actually go to vote on election day. [14:57] And remember, it's about voter integrity. We want to have honest voting in our country. [15:03] Ultimately, this is really stemming from the concern by President Trump and his allies [15:08] that non-citizens are abusing the elections by voting illegally, even though experts and [15:13] even conservative organizations that have tracked down or dispatched voters to the vote have [15:15] practice in the past have said that that is incredibly unlikely and to the extent it does [15:19] happen frequently prosecuted. [15:22] But when it comes to the EO, it attempts to kind of go after that same concern about non-citizenship [15:27] voting instead by kind of putting the onus on election officials in the post office. [15:33] Basically creating this list of federally certified voters and putting it on state election [15:38] officials on the post office to ensure that only those people get ballots. [15:43] Now all of this coming as the president continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of elections, [15:48] pushes for an increased federal role when it comes to elections, and also cast doubt [15:53] on what happened in 2020. [15:55] Despite all of that being thoroughly litigated and investigated, President Trump continues [15:59] to insist that that election was rigged, that he wrongly lost, and having his own Department [16:05] of Justice push investigations into both the outcomes in Georgia and Arizona. [16:11] The FBI in Georgia going as far. [16:13] As to seize all of the ballots in Fulton County from the 2020 elections. [16:17] Of course, hanging over this are the midterm elections, which are coming up in just a few [16:20] months. [16:21] What kind of impact would this back and forth over this particular order have on those elections? [16:28] Is it likely to stand and what changes would we see if it does? [16:32] There's two different things. [16:34] One, this executive order in all likelihood seems unlikely, according to basically any [16:40] legal expert you speak to, to stand. [16:42] They basically suggested that. [16:44] Yeah. [16:44] This is going to run into the same issues that that first executive order back in March [16:48] had in that it's really on the states to run these things and that at the end of the [16:52] day, it's a violation of both the constitution and federal law to intervene into elections [16:57] like this. [16:59] That being said, it's not like the elections going forward are going to be less secure [17:05] because this is not passed. [17:06] If you talk to the people who actually run elections on the state level, they've acknowledged [17:11] that some of these security measures have already been in place. [17:14] At this point, for years, for example, the vast majority of states have barcodes to track [17:19] mail in ballots. [17:20] They've done that so voters can be aware of where their ballot is once they drop it in [17:25] a mailbox that has been in place, I believe, in more than 45 different states. [17:30] So other than involving the federal government and kind of forcing more requirements when [17:35] it comes to citizenship, if you actually speak to election experts, there isn't necessarily [17:39] a concern that elections are in any way going to be less secure at the end of the day. [17:43] I mean, the fact that voting by non-citizens is extremely rare and often prosecuted. [17:48] So it seems like ultimately this is an executive order that seems likely to be blocked possibly [17:54] as early as this week as these legal challenges play out and ultimately unlikely to affect [17:59] what happens with these midterm elections. [18:01] Right. [18:02] And I know that you're going to be keeping a close eye on it this week as we look ahead [18:05] to the next few days of what happens with these challenges. [18:07] Peter Haralambas, thanks so much for talking to me. [18:10] Thanks so much, Mike. [18:12] All right. [18:13] One more quick break. [18:14] I think that's one small step for man. [18:16] One. [18:17] Oh, hang on. [18:18] My Bluetooth got disconnected. [18:19] One last thing is next. [18:23] And one last thing. [18:27] Today is a really big day in the Artemis 2 mission. [18:32] This afternoon, those four astronauts aboard the Orion space capsule will have traveled [18:37] further into space away from Earth than any other human beings before them, surpassing [18:43] a record set by the Apollo 13 mission. [18:46] And breaking that record isn't going to slow them down. [18:49] They're going. [18:50] And if they're a thousand miles further, they're going to enter what's called the [18:53] lunar observation period. [18:55] That's when the Artemis 2 crew gets down to the job that they've been sent up there to [18:59] do. [19:00] Observing, recording and taking photos of the moon. [19:03] Basically it's like snapping photos of something outside the windows of a tour bus when you're [19:07] on vacation. [19:08] In fact, when they're at their closest, the moon will be about the size of a basketball [19:13] out the window, according to NASA. [19:14] So as they get closer, they'll be able to see features that human eyes have never before [19:18] seen. [19:19] Yeah. [19:20] And the Orion are pretty tiny. [19:22] So the astronauts are going to pair off. [19:24] They're taking the observation in shifts while the others work on different projects or get [19:28] some exercise in. [19:29] NASA says it's going to lose contact with the crew for a few minutes in the evening [19:33] as that capsule loops around the back of the moon. [19:36] And then later in the night, once they've reconnected, they're going to start sending [19:39] those pictures they took back to Earth. [19:41] ABC News, this is Mission Control Houston. [19:46] Please call Integrity for a voice check. [19:49] Integrity, this is Gio Benitez at ABC News. [19:51] How do you hear me? [19:52] Outstanding. [19:53] We have you loud and clear. [19:54] ABC's Gio Benitez spoke with those astronauts, Reid Weissman, Victor Glover, Christina Cook [19:59] and Jeremy Hansen, about the journey so far. [20:02] You can see Africa, Europe, and if you looked really close, you could see the northern lights. [20:08] It was the most spectacular moment and it paused all four of us in our tracks. [20:12] But if you've been listening in on the Artemis 2 livestream over the past few days, you may [20:16] have heard about some very earthly problems. [20:18] Outlook. [20:25] Outlook. [20:26] Our reporter Reid Weissman was heard having issues loading up his email on Microsoft Outlook. [20:31] Who among us? [20:32] Later that day, the mission's flight commander said they'd fixed the issue by taking control [20:36] of his device. [20:37] Kind of like how the IT person in your office can remote in to your computer to fix a problem. [20:43] But that wasn't the end of the tech headaches. [20:46] No joy in the list of available devices pre-paid. [20:53] Christina Cook says she had trouble with Bluetooth, trying to pair her computer to a medical [20:59] tablet. [21:00] And then they ran into issues with a device you really don't want going wrong. [21:06] In testing a light on Orion's Universal Waste Management System, the toilet started blinking. [21:13] Turns out the space toilet needed extra water. [21:15] When it came to fixing the lunar loo, Cook stepped up. [21:19] I'm proud to call myself the space plumber. [21:22] I like to say that it is probably the most important piece of equipment on board. [21:26] At one point over the weekend, flight controllers noticed that some of the, uh, waste that's [21:31] collected in one of the toilet's tanks had frozen. [21:34] They even maneuvered the Orion in such a way so that part of the ship could get more sunlight [21:38] so that it could melt the contents of that tank, and then eventually it would be vented [21:42] into space. [21:43] While the ground team worked on these fixes, the astronauts had to use collapsible plastic [21:48] containers. [21:49] But then, mercifully... [21:51] Integrity Houston, uh, breaking news. [21:54] At this time, you are go for all types of uses of the toilet. [22:02] The toilet trouble could actually be really important. [22:05] Let's not forget NASA's eventual goal here is to send people to Mars, a much longer trip [22:10] where things like bathrooms are way more important. [22:13] And that means fixing this toilet, now, is a relief. [22:17] In more ways than one. [22:18] I also think all of this is a really useful reminder, whether your office is down the [22:24] street or hundreds of thousands of miles out in space, IT professionals, and plumbers for [22:30] that matter, are the real heroes of any workplace. [22:33] For live news anytime, you can watch ABC News Live on Hulu and anywhere you stream. [22:37] I'm Mike Dabuskie, in for Brad Milkey, have a great day!