Search and rescue operation under way after US fighter jet shot down over Iran

[0:04] Hi from London, this is the Iran War Today on BBC News and over the next half hour or so we'll be [0:09] bringing you all of the key updates on day 34 of the war. Well let's start with today's main [0:15] developments. A search and rescue operation is underway after a US fighter jet was shot down [0:19] over the west of Iran. Donald Trump says the US could easily open the Strait of Hormuz, [0:26] take the oil and make a fortune with a little more time. Iran carries out further attacks on [0:32] critical infrastructure in Gulf states, damaging a desalination plant and a refinery in Kuwait. [0:39] As both sides continue to hit civilian infrastructure targets, legal experts express [0:44] concern about violations of international law. Well we begin with the ongoing search and rescue [0:52] effort for a downed US fighter jet in southern Iran. US media reports that one crew member has [0:59] been found and rescued while the fate of the second remains unknown. If it's confirmed the [1:04] aircraft was struck by enemy fire, it's possible that the fighter jet was shot down. [1:06] It would mark the first such incident involving a US jet since the start of the war. Iranian state [1:13] media have published pictures and videos apparently showing parts of the downed plane [1:17] and one of the ejector seats. Images posted later on social media and verified by our American [1:23] partner CBS News show a refuelling plane and two helicopters flying low over Khuzestan province, [1:31] consistent with a search and rescue mission. With us is Mikey Kay, military analyst for the BBC's [1:37] security brief program. Mikey, first things first, what does an F-15 do? [1:42] Yeah, so I think it's the letter on the end that's really important because there are different [1:45] variants. This is the F-15E Echo and why that's important is because it's a two-person roll [1:51] aircraft. So you'll have a pilot in the front, you'll have a weapon system operator called a [1:55] wizard in the back. I think we've got a picture of the F-15E here. What's interesting about this [2:00] aircraft is that it's multi-role, so it can do air-to-air and it can do air-to-ground. We know [2:07] aircrafts are from Lake and Heath. They've been deployed into the region. We've been covering out [2:10] on security brief on what assets have been deploying in and we know F-15Es have been [2:15] operational most days. That's the east of England? Yes, near Cambridge, exactly. And we know that [2:21] these aircraft have been involved in many operations, but specifically what's called [2:26] drone cap, which is drone combat air patrol. So these aircraft will get airborne in pairs [2:31] and they'll look for the Shahed 136, that V-winged drone that we've been talking about coming in, [2:37] and they'll be used as a counter defence to that. So yeah, that's the F-15E and likely or most [2:44] probably from RAF Lake and Heath. What more information then can you gather from seeing the [2:50] debris? So I've been pulling over this on open source intelligence before we've had more [2:55] cooperation. If we can go back to that picture of the jet, what I've been trying to do is [2:59] unequivocally be able to say that the debris is commensurate of debris from a jet like that. It's [3:07] the 24th Fighter Squadron, which is based at RAF Lake and Heath. I want to draw the viewer's eyes [3:11] into the rear of that shot. This is a better picture. So it's Lima November. That's just the [3:16] code for the aircraft. Top of that, you've got the top of the tail fin on the left hand side and [3:22] you've got a badge on there which says USAF in Europe. And then you've got a red stripe. Now, [3:27] if you go to the shots of the debris that have been, and if we can just pause on that for a [3:32] second, you can see the red stripe on the top of what looks like a tail fin. And then there's [3:37] also footage of that badge down below, certainly on a second image. So I can highly likely say, [3:44] but looking at that debris and looking at the squadron, the 494th that it was from, [3:51] that aircraft is likely connected to an F-15E from RAF Lake and Heath. [3:55] You could see the word Europe on that crest that you mentioned. [3:57] Exactly. [3:58] So the claim is that it was shot down. That's the most likely explanation. [4:02] We don't know it was shot down. It's certainly come down in [4:07] Iran, but there are a number of potentialities. So yeah, it could have been taken out by a surface [4:13] to air missile, a manned portable air defense system, that small surface to air missile that [4:18] a troop carries. But also it could have been friendly fire. We've already seen three F-15Es [4:23] shot down by a Q80 F-15 earlier on in the war. Again, we don't know that. Or it could have been [4:28] a technical problem. So there are eventualities. I mean, you could probably say that the likelihood [4:34] is that it's been shot down, but we can't unequivocally say that. I don't know. [4:36] Yeah. [4:36] At the moment. [4:38] So if they ejected, what's that process like? It can't be a gentle process to go through. [4:44] Yeah. I mean, the highly likelihood is they would have ejected. And that is the last case [4:49] scenario for a crew in an aircraft that can't fly. So irrespective of what happened, we don't [4:56] know that yet. Ejection is the last-ditch scenario for a crew if the aircraft cannot maintain itself [5:02] being airborne. And it's a really – it's not a decision that is taken lightly by a crew because [5:07] the process is quite brutal. The ejection seat will be punched out of the airplane at around 25G, [5:14] and it's going into a forward airflow of probably greater than 300 knots. So that in itself is going [5:20] to be quite brutal on the body. The legs and the arms of the crews will be pulled in by straps [5:25] that are automatically part of the ejection process. They'll also probably have a nine [5:31] millimeter short-barreled weapon, which is all they will have to defend themselves. And then once [5:37] the seat comes out of the aircraft, depending on what height it's at, it's got a barometric gauge. [5:43] So if it ejects below 10,000 feet, then that barometric gauge will automatically [5:49] shoot the ejection seat off. So they've gone through that part, which is brutal in itself. [5:53] But then you've got to look at what type of terrain they're landing on. So if they're landing [5:56] on – ideally, they're landing on something flat, something relatively soft, a field would be great, [6:01] or even sort of a dusty area. But if what they're landing on is a mountainous terrain or a forest, [6:07] for example, then obviously that can create sprained ankles, broken limbs, parachute snagged [6:12] in forest. And that then becomes a real problem for the next phase, which is these crews need to [6:18] be mobile to go into hiding. And how does the search and rescue operation work then? They've [6:23] got to locate them and then actually retrieve them? Yeah. So I think we've got a visual here [6:27] of what's called an HC-130J. So that's a Hercules aircraft that's in the front of that package, [6:34] And then behind them, two HH-60 Jolly Green 2 aircraft. [6:39] The HH-60 Jolly Green 2, I don't know if you've got a picture of that, [6:41] but it's basically a Black Hawk variant that has a refueling probe on it [6:45] that allows missions like this that go deep into enemy terrain. [6:48] There we go. [6:49] So you can see the refueling probe on the front. [6:52] It'll also be kitted out with forward-looking infrared and all-terrain radar, [6:57] which will allow them to fly in inclement conditions. [6:59] And what we saw there, these crews, they're called Combat Search and Rescue, [7:05] these crews having to go into an environment that is non-permissive, [7:09] which means there's a threat there, and fly in daylight, [7:12] they're likely going in with another package as well, [7:14] which would be a fighter escort package. [7:16] And that could be anything from other F-15s or the A-10 Warthog that we've seen [7:19] to basically lay down suppression of enemy fire [7:24] or basically just pave the way to make sure that they can identify and locate, [7:28] yeah, that's an A-10 Warthog there. [7:29] We've already seen 12 of those arrive through the U.K. [7:33] and they're on the way to the region to join another six. [7:35] I think there's 18 total. [7:36] We've seen these aircraft being used in operations against Popular Mobilization Forces, [7:40] which are Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq, but also across the Strait of Hormuz. [7:45] So, you know, one of these aircraft could be used in that package or it could be an F-15, [7:48] but basically that Hercules and those two black or jolly green twos [7:52] will likely be accompanied by something that will give them a bit more safety. [7:55] What does all this tell us about just how superior, [7:59] the U.S. is in the air? [8:01] Yeah, I think that's a great question. [8:03] We're hearing about the U.S. talking about air superiority. [8:06] Air superiority is a doctrinal term that allows U.S. aircraft [8:10] to fly pretty much unhindered in an enemy environment. [8:14] Now, I've flown in non-permissive environments, [8:17] but thankfully there hasn't been that manpad threat. [8:21] With Iran, we know that the manpads are pervasive. [8:25] And I think what's important from the American perspective [8:27] is not to miscalculate. [8:30] The air superiority term in terms of how much they fly, [8:35] at what level they fly. [8:36] So in terms of what threat, we call it threat bands. [8:39] And depending on what level you're at, there are certain threat bands. [8:42] If you position yourself in, you become vulnerable to heavy machine gun fire [8:46] or vulnerable to a manpad threat or a, you know, [8:50] a track surface to air missile system. [8:51] And so there are various threat levels. [8:53] And I think, you know, if I was an American commander, [8:56] I certainly wouldn't be putting aircraft in the 500 foot [8:59] or 2,000 foot aircraft. [9:00] I certainly wouldn't be putting aircraft in the 2,000 foot region [9:00] because that air superiority thing doesn't apply [9:04] to these manportable air defense systems. [9:06] So again, we don't know that it was shot down, [9:09] but we do know the Iranians have a lot of these manpads. [9:11] And so therefore, you know, in terms of risk-off situations, [9:15] massive caution should be taken. [9:16] Mikey, as ever, thank you very much. [9:18] Mikey K. [9:20] Well, let's get the view now from inside Iran. [9:22] We've been monitoring official media outlets, [9:23] and they say a substantial reward has been set [9:25] for anyone who finds the pilots alive. [9:29] Let's speak to Ghanche Habib Yazad [9:31] on BBC Persian. [9:32] This is the Persian language service of BBC News, [9:35] used by 24 million people around the world. [9:37] The majority of them are in Iran, [9:38] despite being blocked and routinely jammed [9:40] by the Iranian authorities. [9:43] Ghanche, what's the reaction been in Iran, then, [9:45] to the downing of this American F-15? [9:48] Well, when it comes to Iranian officials, [9:51] the latest reaction that we have seen, [9:52] and the most prominent one, [9:54] has been from Iranian Parliament Speaker [9:56] Mohammad Barak Kadibov, [9:57] who has mocked the U.S. [10:00] in a post on X. [10:01] And Kadibov hasn't been seen since 17 March [10:06] on state TV or in public, [10:07] or we haven't seen much photos from him or anything [10:10] that he has appeared in public. [10:12] But in the post, he has mocked the U.S., [10:14] and he has said that you were talking about regime change, [10:17] now you're looking for your pilot. [10:20] And what he means by regime change [10:22] is a reference to when Donald Trump was saying [10:25] that there was a regime change [10:27] and leaders in Iran have changed. [10:30] But certainly, the leaders in Iran have been talking, [10:32] like it is, including Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei [10:36] on the first day of the strike. [10:38] Beside that, I'm also getting some views [10:40] from people inside the country [10:43] about the pilot and what has been going on [10:46] and what they're saying. [10:47] It's just very much limited. [10:49] I'm hearing from a limited number of people, [10:51] and Iran is under an internet blackout right now. [10:55] So these views are from people [10:57] who are connected via Starlink, most of them, [10:59] and using or possessing Starlink, [11:02] and the satellite internet in Iran [11:03] can lead to up to two years' imprisonment for them. [11:07] What they have been saying is that it's just very confusing. [11:10] We don't know much details, obviously, [11:12] from what is happening yet. [11:13] But among one or two of them, [11:16] they fear that if this has happened, [11:19] and all of them are anti-establishment, [11:20] all of the people that I talked to, [11:21] and that if this has happened, [11:23] it's gonna be like a major victory, in a sense, for Iran. [11:27] And Iran also has a history of taking hostages. [11:32] So we don't know if they're gonna find a pilot, [11:34] if what's gonna happen, if there is a pilot in Iran. [11:37] There's so many identities and so many things [11:39] that we don't know yet about what has happened. [11:43] Gontje, for the moment, thank you very much. [11:45] Gontje Habib-Izzat from BBC Persian. [11:47] Well, Iran continues to retaliate [11:49] and wreak havoc on its neighbors. [11:51] Strikes and interceptions have been reported in Israel, [11:53] the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. [11:57] Our correspondent Lorna Gordon joins us now from Dubai. [12:01] Lorna, bring us up to date, then, [12:02] with the latest Iranian strikes across the region. [12:07] Yeah, the Gulf states are on the front line [12:09] of these Iranian attacks, [12:11] which it says are in retaliation for strikes on it [12:15] by Israel and the United States. [12:19] The latest barrages seem to have focused [12:21] on oil and energy infrastructure. [12:24] One of Kuwait's largest oil refineries was targeted. [12:28] The refinery was attacked by drones [12:31] for the third time in the war. [12:34] An energy and water desalination plant [12:38] was also damaged in a different attack. [12:41] Well, here in Abu Dhabi, operations [12:44] were suspended at its biggest natural gas processing [12:47] facility after falling debris there started a fire. [12:52] Military authorities here in the UAE, here in the Emirates, [12:56] say that they, over the last 24 hours, [12:59] have engaged with more than 20 missiles, a mixture of cruise [13:04] missiles and ballistic missiles and almost 50 drones. [13:07] That is the highest figure in a number of weeks. [13:12] And, you know, it comes just after President Trump threatened [13:16] a further escalation in attacks. [13:20] And you can't help but wonder if Iran, [13:23] with this latest round of attacks, [13:26] is in reply, sending a message of its own right back. [13:31] Lorna, for the moment, thank you. [13:32] Lorna Gordon in Dubai. [13:37] Let's turn now to another front line of the war. [13:40] Israel's military says it struck 3,500 targets in Lebanon [13:44] since hostilities with the militant group Hezbollah [13:46] resumed a month ago. [13:48] The UN says Israel's ground invasion of South Lebanon [13:51] has displaced more than a million people. [13:53] Our correspondent, Lina Sinjab, has the latest developments [13:56] from Beirut. [13:57] I'm not sure if you can hear the drone, the sound [14:00] of the drone, Israeli drone, is flying over. [14:03] You can hear it almost in every part of the city, which means [14:07] an imminent attack is going to take place. [14:09] We're not sure where exactly. [14:11] These are the sounds of war that the Lebanese are living with [14:14] day in, day out. [14:16] Sometimes they know where the target is heading. [14:19] Sometimes they have no idea. [14:21] In the south of the country is the most dangerous situation, [14:26] as Israel continues to attack villages in the south, [14:30] giving warnings to many residents to leave Hezbollah. [14:33] And on its side, there's also firing rockets into Israel. [14:37] Defying and saying they will not stop this war. [14:41] Many residents are trapped in the south of Lebanon, despite [14:45] statements from the Israelis of expanding the buffer zone, [14:49] what they call a security zone, reaching north of Litani River. [14:54] Today is a Good Friday, and for many Christians, thousands [14:57] of Christians, those who are trapped in the south, they won't [15:01] be able to celebrate. [15:02] They've made it clear they're not leaving their towns. [15:05] They're not leaving their villages. [15:07] The U.N. Security Council will vote tomorrow on a resolution put forward by Bahrain that [15:13] authorizes member states to use all defensive means necessary to secure transit passage [15:18] in the Strait of Hormuz for at least six months. [15:20] Meanwhile, a hundred experts in international law are warning of serious violations by the [15:25] U.S., Israel and Iran. [15:27] They say the initial attack on Iran was a clear breach of the U.N. charter. [15:31] They also highlight what they call the alarming language used by U.S. officials, including [15:35] Donald Trump. [15:36] The White House insists the U.S. Security Council will vote tomorrow on a resolution [15:37] for the U.S. campaign is making the region safer. [15:40] Tom Fletcher, the U.N.'s humanitarian chief, explains just how concerning the situation [15:45] is. [15:46] This is this has been a gradual and then very sudden deterioration in the way that we talk [15:50] about protection of civilians, the way that we talk about international humanitarian law. [15:55] This stuff isn't negotiable. [15:57] You don't hit civilian infrastructure that includes hospitals across Beirut and across [16:02] Lebanon. [16:03] I met huge numbers of medics whose ambulances are being hit at the moment. [16:07] You don't hit schools. [16:09] You don't hit energy sources. [16:10] You don't hit bridges. [16:12] Those are war crimes. [16:13] That is absolutely clear in international law. [16:16] But somewhere along the way, we seem to have thrown that all aside. [16:19] And we've chosen impunity, indifference, game show gambling over solidarity and humanity. [16:28] Tom Fletcher, the war in Iran has had a dramatic impact, of course, on the price of oil across [16:32] the world. [16:33] Iran's grip on the strategic shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz is giving it a chokehold [16:38] on oil and gas supplies. [16:39] Vital to the global economy. [16:41] Our Asia business correspondent, Nick Marsh, has this analysis. [16:45] When the price of oil goes up, the price of pretty much everything goes up, because you [16:49] need oil to power factories. [16:51] You need oil to transport goods. [16:53] It factors into the price of jet fuel. [16:55] So if you're flying in food, for example, that could also go up. [17:01] And then you start getting all these inflationary pressures. [17:04] Even things like fertilizers, for example, you know, they're stuck near the Strait of [17:09] Hormuz, liquefied natural gas as well. [17:12] You need that to make fertilizers. [17:14] You need that to power things. [17:15] So when there's a disruption to that supply, not only do you have an immediate issue when [17:21] you're scrabbling around for actual for actual supplies of fuel, you've also got the problems [17:27] associated with the increased price. [17:30] At the moment, Brent crude, which is the global benchmark that we use to measure the price [17:36] of oil. [17:37] It's at around one hundred and nine. [17:39] Dollars a barrel. [17:40] It is very, very high indeed. [17:43] We've seen the price go up. [17:44] We've seen the price go down, but quite slightly, really, you know, in relative terms, it's [17:51] usually linked to what the U.S. president says in terms of signaling that the war might [17:56] come to an end soon or in the case of Wednesday, when he gave his prime time address from the [18:02] White House, that there really was no end in sight, no actual concrete update on just [18:07] how the war would end. [18:09] So traders are looking at that picture and they're thinking there's going to be a really, [18:12] really prolonged disruption, prolonged blockage in the Straits of Hormuz. [18:18] And as long as that is the case, the price is going to stay very, very high indeed. [18:23] I mean, even if the United States walked away from this war, it declared victory or whatever [18:27] it wants to do. [18:28] The Straits of Hormuz doesn't naturally necessarily just open up immediately. [18:33] That takes weeks and weeks and weeks. [18:35] It basically is completely under the control of Iran. [18:38] So. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:38] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:39] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:40] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:41] Yeah. [18:42] Yeah. [18:42] Yeah. [18:42] So this is a big shock. [18:43] I was just looking at some new data from S&P Global that looks at spot prices of oil, so [18:49] the actual here and now of what oil is being bought for. [18:52] Because don't forget the Brent crude prices that we talk about, they're futures contracts. [18:57] So they're contracts for oil at a fixed price to be bought in the future, so in a couple [19:04] of months' time. [19:09] much much higher 140 dollars the highest since 2008 higher even than the [19:15] aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine so businesses are feeling the [19:20] impact massively but when businesses feel impacts ultimately that means [19:24] people are feeling the impact Nick Marsh well that impact is acutely being felt [19:29] in Asia where many nations are highly dependent on imports of oil through the [19:33] Strait of Hormuz in Pakistan the government has raised petrol prices by a [19:36] further 43 percent Caroline Davis reports from Islamabad this is a [19:41] dramatic increase in the price of fuel here in Pakistan and the government here [19:46] is tying it directly to the war in Iran now Pakistan is highly dependent on [19:51] imported oil a large amount of which comes through the Strait of Hormuz and [19:55] in fact this is the second time that Pakistan's government has increased the [19:59] price of fuel since the conflict began which means that petrol has now [20:02] increased 77 percent since the beginning of this conflict and diesel [20:07] by 87%. Now, Pakistan's government did announce some subsidies for certain groups, including [20:14] motorcycle users, small farmers, passenger buses amongst them. But the major concern is that this [20:20] will filter into inflation and many here in Pakistan will already be making assessments [20:24] about how often and how far they travel. Caroline Davies in Islamabad, whether you are joining us [20:31] on YouTube, TikTok, sounds, radio or TV, thank you for your time. We'll be back at the same time [20:37] tomorrow with the Iran war today.