Trump says missing US crew member from downed jet rescued in 'daring' operation in Iran

[0:00] President Trump has announced that the U.S. has rescued the missing crew member of a military jet [0:05] that was downed over Iran in what he's described as one of the most daring operations in American [0:12] history. The U.S. and Iran had been searching for the airman since Friday after his F-15 fighter [0:19] plane was shot down by Tehran. Mr. Trump said the rescue involved dozens of aircraft operating deep [0:26] in enemy territory. The weapons systems officer was aboard a U.S. F-15 that was shot down in [0:33] southern Iran. A pilot who was also on board was rescued earlier. Well, let's take a look at what [0:40] Donald Trump has posted on his Truth Social website. It says, we got him before going on to [0:47] call the rescue one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history. The president [0:54] confirmed the second pilot is now [0:57] safe and sound before saying this is the first time in military memory that two U.S. pilots have [1:04] been rescued separately deep in enemy territory. He then went on to say we will never leave an [1:11] American warfighter behind. Our World Affairs correspondent Joe Inwood has the story. [1:21] It was a race against time, one the Americans seem to have won. Across the rocky hills of [1:28] southwestern Iran, local people said, [1:31] we will never leave an American warfighter behind. We will never leave an American warfighter behind. [1:31] The F-15E pilot had already been rescued. Now, in what President Trump called one of the most [1:46] daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history, the weapons system officer has also [1:51] been found. In an online post, he wrote the airman was never truly alone, as they were monitoring his [1:57] location 24 hours a day. We will never leave an American warfighter behind. We will never leave an [2:01] American warfighter behind, he added. We lost the two aircraft. And in this particular case, [2:06] fate was on our side. And we have been able to recover all three of those pilots. So, [2:13] I think it's going to be a morale boost. But then again, those military operations are going to be [2:19] ongoing. So, we may find disappointment right around the corner. It comes amidst intensifying [2:27] attacks at the heart of Iran's oil industry. Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to destroy [2:33] this country's power plants, its economy, even its desalination plants if a deal is not reached, [2:40] although these strikes appear to have been claimed by the U.S.'s main ally in this war, Israel. [2:47] After we destroyed 70 percent of their steel production capacity, which serves as raw material [2:52] for their weapons, today we struck the petrochemical plants. It's not just industrial [2:59] sites now being targeted. New footage has emerged of the moment U.S. airstrikes destroyed the recently [3:06] constructed B1 bridge near Tehran. Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran, in his words, [3:12] back to the Stone Ages. Even as they looked on the ruins of their own houses, [3:17] Iranians living nearby did not take kindly to that suggestion. [3:24] When we were in the Stone Age, we were still more advanced than the Americans. [3:28] When you love your homeland, you'd even love the rubble left from your homes. [3:35] Earlier, Donald Trump renewed his threats against Iran, [3:39] and he said, [3:40] and this is what he said on social media, to say, [3:42] Remember when I gave Iran 10 days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait? [3:46] Time is running out. 48 hours before all hell will rain down on them. [3:52] The Strait of Hormuz is a vital waterway, which has been effectively shut by Iran. [3:59] The Revolutionary Guards released this footage showing what they say was their 95th missile [4:04] barrage of the war. This has turned into an asymmetric conflict. U.S. military muscle being met [4:11] with Iranian economic pressure. [4:12] It is still far from clear which will prove decisive. [4:15] Jo Inwood, BBC News. [4:20] Let's speak to Daniel Desimone in Jerusalem. [4:23] And Daniel, we're hearing that five people have been killed in Iran in strikes during [4:29] the U.S. pilot rescue. That's according to Iranian media. [4:34] So more details emerging of what happened during this rescue efforts. [4:38] That's right. So overnight, there were reports in Iranian state media about deaths. [4:47] During airstrikes, U.S. airstrikes in the southwest of the country, in the southwest [4:52] province where the U.S. airman was believed to be. That total is the number you've just given. [5:00] And there are more details emerging about the operation, which involved dozens of aircraft, [5:07] according to President Trump. There are reports that two U.S. aircraft couldn't take off [5:16] from it. [5:17] There are reports that two U.S. aircraft could take off from Iran and that the Americans [5:22] destroyed those aircraft themselves in order to stop them falling into Iranian hands. [5:27] That was during the operation. And it said that U.S. special forces intimately involved [5:33] in this. There's also reports that the CIA was very involved and engaged in some sort [5:38] of decoy to kind of put off the Iranians and give them a false sense of what was going on. [5:46] There's been no official response yet from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the actual rescue. [5:52] He's posted on social media this morning wishing a happy Easter to Christians and affirming [5:59] the U.S., the alliance between Israel and the U.S. against Iran. Within the last few minutes here in [6:06] Israel, the Israeli military has said that his identified missiles are being fired from Iran [6:13] towards Israel. [6:14] AMNA NAWAZ How significant, [6:17] is this rescue mission, Daniel, for the U.S., given the tone of President Trump's [6:23] statement in reaction to what happened? [6:25] DANIEL BUSH It's very significant for the U.S. military. [6:31] It's very significant for Donald Trump personally. What it means for the wider war, [6:38] we don't know. The wider war has been going on for – since the end of February, [6:43] since the last day of February. It's repeated airstrikes from the U.S. and Israel. [6:50] There was, as we know, at the beginning of the war a wish expressed by the American and [6:57] Israeli leadership for there to be regime change in Iran. That hasn't happened. [7:03] The Iranian military is still fighting. There are still missile and drone attacks taking place [7:09] every day. As I said, Iranian missiles fired towards Israel this morning, [7:15] according to the Israeli military. Overnight, there was a drone attack on Israel this morning. [7:18] How important is this né? Price look? Can we do it more quickly? Is it what the Palestinian militias want? [7:19] For those that want more information, you can also trace a little. You can't [7:19] just take away the cruise ships. Right now, several orbiter planes have aering lifted, Japanese marines have been darned away [7:20] attack in Kuwait and elsewhere in the region. And we've got this big deadline that's coming [7:25] up tomorrow that Donald Trump set some days back. And the deadline, he says, [7:32] is either Iran will make a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz, or he will follow through on [7:39] these threats to destroy U.S. energy, Iranian energy plants. That is obviously a very severe [7:47] threat that would have an enormous impact on Iranian people if it was followed through on. [7:53] And that is now the big deadline that's coming up. So this operation is obviously hugely significant [8:00] for the U.S. It's hugely significant for Donald Trump. What it means for wider war, we don't know. [8:04] For the Iranians, the Iranian, on Iranian state media, once this U.S. serviceman was [8:10] known to be missing, the first serviceman was rescued shortly after being downed. [8:17] There was, on Iranian state media, there was talk of rewards for people who would be [8:23] able to find the airman. Clearly, there was a wish within Tehran, within the Iranian military, [8:29] to capture this U.S. airman alive, because that could have been used within Iranian propaganda. [8:35] It could have been used as a bargaining tool. And they were very keen to capture that person alive. [8:41] The fact that hasn't happened, the fact the U.S. has been able to go in, rescue both airmen, [8:47] despite all of the efforts by the Iranian military to catch him, it's clearly a significant [8:53] victory for the U.S. What it means for the wider war, though, we don't know, [8:57] because the wider war is still going on. The Iranian military is still fighting. The Iranian [9:02] government is still intact. And so this big deadline now coming up tomorrow, and I think [9:07] a lot of attention is going to turn to that now. Daniel, as you say, [9:12] a big morale boost for the Americans. But in terms of diplomatically going forward, do you think this [9:18] would be damaging in terms of trying to get to an endpoint in this war? [9:23] Well, Donald Trump is setting demands. He's saying he wants the Strait of Hormuz [9:33] to be fully opened. He wants a deal. And he's setting – he's saying he wants a deal to end [9:40] the war. The Iranian government is saying it's also returning with its own rhetoric. [9:46] Donald Trump yesterday talking about raining hell down on Iran. The Iranians last night, [9:52] talking about creating hell throughout the region if that happened. So there does appear to be no [9:58] plausible deal in sight in the short term. So I think that's – that really is the sense here. [10:05] And I think things would have to change quite dramatically within the next day if there is to [10:11] be some kind of deal. Daniel, for the moment, thank you. That's our correspondent, Daniel [10:16] Desimone in Jerusalem. Well, let's cross over now to our correspondent in the Gulf, Lorna Gordon in [10:23] Jerusalem. And Lorna, you've been telling us more about the rescue operation itself. We know that [10:29] dozens of military aircraft were involved. Yeah, it's always confusing in the, you know, [10:36] initial hours following a rescue. But the details are starting to emerge. The Americans released [10:42] little information over the weekend. Of course, they rescued the pilot of this F-15 on Friday. [10:49] And the lack of information, I think, would have been down to them wanting to protect [10:55] the officer. [10:55] Yeah, I mean, we know that there was an operation on the ground and those probably many hundreds of [11:02] special forces that were involved. What we know, as you say now, is that dozens of aircraft were [11:09] involved, that the missing crew member, a colonel, had sustained injuries, but President Trump said [11:15] would be just fine. He also said no Americans were killed or wounded in the operation. Reuters is [11:24] reporting that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are saying, [11:25] several what they call flying objects were destroyed during the US mission. Reports out of [11:32] the United States and the networks there say that two US transport planes unable to take off from an [11:39] Iranian airport were destroyed to stop them falling into Iranian hands. So, you know, this was clearly [11:47] a big operation with a lot of jeopardy and a moment of potential crisis for the United States. So, [11:55] Reuters is saying, a lot of jeopardy and a moment of potential crisis for the United States. So, [11:55] Reuters is saying, a lot of jeopardy and a moment of potential crisis for the United States. So, [11:55] Iran was racing to find the airmen. They had offered a reward. And, you know, the US could [12:02] have faced a potential prisoner of war situation with this airman being used for Iranian propaganda. [12:12] They will be breathing a sigh of relief that these two crewmen, one on Friday and one today, [12:18] have been rescued. But, you know, this war continues. Overnight, attacks have continued. [12:25] Here in the Gulf, in Bahrain, a fire was extinguished at one of the containers in an oil [12:34] storage facility there. Saudi Arabia say they intercepted and destroyed cruise missiles in the [12:40] recent hour. In the UAE, several fires broke out at a petrochemical facility in Abu Dhabi. Often, [12:46] these are caused by falling debris from interceptions. And in Kuwait, a government [12:52] ministry, an oil refinery, and two water and oil refineries were destroyed in the Gulf. [12:55] The two power desalination plants were attacked. No one has been injured there, [13:01] but the two electricity plants have gone offline. And, Lorna, just going back to not far from where [13:08] you are, what's happened in Abu Dhabi, we know that there have been those fires that [13:14] authorities say that they have been dealing with because of the falling debris due to what we think [13:20] is a drone interception strike. So, this just shows really the impact of this war and how much [13:25] it's lingering. [13:29] You know, it is. It's relentless. Every day, most of the Gulf states are [13:35] experiencing drone and missile attacks by Iran, which Iran says are in retaliation for the U.S. [13:42] and Israeli strikes on it. There has been in recent days what looks to be a rise in the [13:50] number of attacks that the UAE is experiencing again ahead of that latest deadline that the U.S. [13:58] president has given. You know, they move often to reassure people living here, [14:03] saying that most of the damage is being caused by falling debris from successful interceptions. But, [14:11] you know, people are still dying. People are still being injured. And the economic cost [14:18] of this war is mounting. Lorna, what do you make of the tone of [14:23] President Trump's statement in reaction to this rescue mission? He sounds relieved. He sounds, you [14:32] He is seizing this as a victory. He is calling it the most daring, most courageous rescue operation by the U.S. military. [14:45] I think it's interesting the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is saying that America is breathing a sigh of relief. [14:53] You know, they do get behind their servicemen when they find themselves in difficult situations. [15:00] They have large operations behind their combat missions so that if something goes wrong, these plans kick into place and rescues can be carried out. [15:12] But there is always no guarantee that there will be success. [15:16] And this serviceman was in a mountainous region of southern Iran. [15:22] He was behind what President Trump called energy enemy lines. [15:27] So, you know, there was high risk. [15:30] A lot of danger on the ground involved in rescuing this crewman who was one of two on that F-15 jet that went down on Friday. [15:39] Lorna, thank you very much. That's Lorna Gordon in Dubai for us.