GoKawiilThe U.S. military continued to search for a missing American airman after an F-15E fighter jet was shot down over southwestern Iran on Friday. One crew member has been rescued, but the second remains unaccounted for, with both U.S. and Iranian forces searching.
Iran and the U.S. confirmed Tehran downed the two-seat F-15E jet, while separately two U.S. officials said the pilot ejected from a U.S. A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft that crashed in Kuwait after being hit by Iranian fire.
Two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in the search for the missing crew member in Iran were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
The possibility that the airman could be captured has raised concerns in Washington about potential leverage for Tehran. The incident marks the first time Iranian forces have successfully downed a U.S. combat aircraft since the war began.
President Donald Trump said Saturday in a Truth Social post: "Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out - 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them."
On March 26, Trump said he would extend a pause in attacking Iran's energy facilities by 10 days to April 6 at the request of the government of the Islamic Republic.
In a televised address from the White House on Wednesday, Trump told Americans that he expects the Iran war to last another two to three weeks, but said the conflict was close to an end.
"We are going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast," he said.
Iran's foreign minister, in principle, left the door open for peace talks with the U.S. amid talks about mediation from Pakistan, but he gave no sign of Tehran's willingness to bow to Trump's demands.
"We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad. What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us," Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.
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