US continues search for missing crew member from downed jet as Iran offers capture reward

[0:00] Iran and the U.S. are racing to find the missing crew member of a downed American fighter jet. [0:06] Tehran says it shot down the F-15 over the southwest of the country [0:10] and that soldiers are searching the area. [0:13] U.S. officials have told the BBC's partner network, CBS News, [0:17] that the other person in the aircraft has been rescued. [0:21] Iran's state media reports that the country's air defense system [0:24] shot down a second U.S. aircraft, which crashed in the Gulf. [0:28] Let's get the latest now from our correspondent in Washington, Tom Bateman. [0:34] U.S. search helicopters prowl the skies over southern Iran, [0:38] now in a deadly race to find America's missing airman. [0:45] Iranian state TV showing pictures of what it says is the wreckage of the downed U.S. fighter plane. [0:52] The Iranians claim it was shot down by an air defense system [0:55] as it flew over a rugged province in southwestern Iran. [0:58] Pictures on social media. [1:01] U.S. media purport to show one of the two ejector seats. [1:04] These images are as yet unverified, [1:06] but appear to be consistent with parts of an F-15 fighter jet. [1:11] U.S. officials say they launched a combat rescue mission under fire, [1:15] finding one of the F-15 crew, its pilot. [1:18] But the recovery helicopter was hit by gunfire, injuring crew members. [1:24] These pictures appear to show men in a field opening fire [1:27] on American Pave Hawk helicopters used in search operations. [1:31] Another picture shows a man in a field opening fire on an American Pave Hawk helicopter. [1:33] Another plane involved was also hit, an A-10 Warthog like this. [1:37] Its pilot ejected over the Gulf and was rescued. [1:41] Meanwhile, Iranian government messages have been broadcast, [1:44] calling on residents to join a hunt for the pilots, [1:49] offering a bounty for their capture. [1:52] This is the F-15E Strike Eagle, one of America's most advanced fighter planes. [1:58] It's used for bombing raids and to shoot down drones. [2:01] Behind the pilot is a weapons systems officer. [2:03] Shown here at RAF Live. [2:05] The F-15 has been deployed to the Lakenheath in Suffolk. [2:08] Iran's military claims the downed plane was from the Lakenheath squadron, [2:11] but the BBC has not confirmed this. [2:13] This former F-15 pilot says the missing crew member will have been equipped for survival. [2:19] Once they're on the ground there, what's going to be going through their minds? [2:23] First thing is, how do I get myself away from where it is that I am, [2:27] and then how do I make contact with friendly forces to get myself back into friendly hands? [2:31] The White House says President Trump has been briefed. [2:35] He said nothing publicly about the rescue operation, [2:38] posting only on social media about Iran. [2:41] Keep the oil, anyone. [2:43] US Central Command released pictures of what it called its undeniable progress, [2:47] saying Iran's air defence systems had been largely destroyed. [2:52] But its claims to have free reign over Iran's skies will ring hollow, [2:56] with the first known loss of a manned US aircraft there since the start of the war, [3:01] and a perilous search behind Iranian lines. [3:04] The fate of the missing crew member could, [3:06] however, determine the direction of this conflict, [3:09] already unpopular with Americans, [3:11] overseen by a leader looking for ways to end it. [3:14] Tom Bateman, BBC News, Washington. [3:17] Well, President Trump refused to discuss details of the search and rescue operation, [3:22] but said the day's events would not affect any negotiations with Iran. [3:27] Our correspondent, Simi Jola-Osho in Washington, has sent us this report. [3:31] We are told President Trump's national security team spent Thursday [3:35] in the West Wing of the White House, providing him [3:37] with updates on the initial search and rescue operation. [3:41] Now, President Trump wouldn't comment to the media specifically on the operation, [3:45] but when asked whether this would affect negotiations with Iran, [3:48] he said he didn't expect it to. [3:51] When asked what his response would be if this crew member was found harmed, [3:56] he simply said he hoped that wouldn't be the case. [3:59] Now, this all comes after President Trump claimed that Iran's air defences were weakened, [4:05] and said that Iran couldn't do a thing about US aircraft operating in its territory. [4:11] Now, we're hearing that Iran's Revolutionary Guard have sealed off a huge area [4:17] and is conducting a search using troops and locals to try and find this missing crew member. [4:23] This has become a high-stakes search on the ground [4:28] between the two adversaries for this missing American service member. [4:34] Simi Jola-Osho in Washington, Florida. [4:36] Let's bring you some of the day's other main developments in the Middle East now. [4:41] And Iranian missiles hit residential areas in parts of central Israel in the early hours of Saturday. [4:48] Israel's military says it's conducting strikes on Lebanon's capital, Beirut. [4:53] The IDF says the strikes are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure sites. [4:58] Elsewhere, heavy explosions have been reported in the Iranian capital, Tehran. [5:03] Fighter jets have also been heard in the sky. [5:06] And Bahrain urged residents to seek shelter, [5:09] with sirens sounding right across the country as Iran continues attacking Gulf states. [5:15] As the US-Israel conflict with Iran intensifies, unrest is spreading across the region. [5:23] President Trump is warning Iran of greater destruction unless it does what it knows it has to do. [5:29] Now, legal experts have issued an open letter raising concerns about possible violations by all sides. [5:35] Our correspondent, Lorna Gordon, has the details. [5:37] Lorna Gordon is in Dubai and explains what the letter said. [5:45] And just apologies, it's Joel Gunter for us in Jerusalem about to report. [5:50] This is now the very big issue in the region that this F-15 fighter jet was downed over Iran. [5:57] It was less than a week ago that the US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, [6:01] was boasting that the US had achieved such air superiority over Iran [6:06] and degraded Iran's air defenses so badly [6:09] that it could fly heavy, slow-moving bombers like the B-52 without concern. [6:14] Now, just a few days later, we have this jet being downed. [6:18] We have one member of the crew who's been rescued, but one still unaccounted for. [6:23] And as you heard there from our colleagues in D.C., [6:27] the IRGC, the Iranian forces have sealed off a large area and are searching for the pilot. [6:33] The stakes are now very high. [6:36] President Trump has said he believes it won't affect negotiations. [6:39] He refused to comment on how the US might respond to the pilot being captured. [6:44] But this is already a very unpopular conflict in some ways. [6:48] There is no clear sense of a way out. [6:51] As you mentioned, in the region, there are still very heavy strikes going on almost in all directions. [6:57] We've had some in Israel this morning which wounded a man in the center of the country. [7:02] So if this pilot, if this member of the air crew is captured, [7:06] it does significantly, potentially, [7:08] raise the stakes for the US. [7:11] And Joel, as you've been talking there, [7:14] this sense of how the mood is changing right across the region, [7:18] do you think what's happened in the last 24 hours [7:21] may change the way the US and Israel go forward [7:25] in terms of trying to end this war as quickly as possible? [7:28] Well, it's been clear for a little while there have been signs [7:36] that President Trump is keen for a quick exit. [7:39] You know, he said this past week that he thought the US [7:43] would withdraw from this conflict within two to three weeks. [7:47] Israeli defense officials here have said that they believe [7:50] that their military objectives against Iran are almost complete. [7:55] But in the same sentence, almost, [7:57] President Trump will say his plan is to bomb Iran back to the Stone Ages. [8:02] There have been continued strikes now moving on to critical infrastructure, [8:07] including civilian infrastructure. [8:10] Those strikes are ongoing. [8:13] In the past few days in Israel, [8:15] normally a time of joy and celebration, [8:18] but continued volleys of Iranian ballistic missiles [8:21] coming through into Israel, [8:24] wounding more than a dozen people, some critically. [8:28] So I can't say there's really a sense here in the region [8:31] that there is a definitive or reasonable plan [8:34] for the end of this conflict. [8:36] Here in Israel, here in other parts of the region, [8:38] Iran, certainly in southern Lebanon and in the Gulf, [8:42] feels very much alive. [8:45] So that was Joel Gunter reporting for us from Jerusalem [8:48] in reaction to the downed fighter jet from there.