US special forces rescue second F-15 airman from Iran

U.S. special forces rescued a downed airman in Iran in a complex operation that averted a potential crisis for President Donald Trump, as the war entered its sixth week with little sign of progress in diplomatic efforts for a resolution.

Trump announced the rescue in the early hours of Sunday in a social media post that described the operation, in a mountainous area of Iran , as “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History.”

The airman, the weapons officer of an F-15 jet shot down on Friday, was wounded but “will be just fine,” Trump said in a message on X posted by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The pilot of the aircraft was rescued on Friday.

A U.S. official said the operation, which Israel said it had assisted, involved dozens of military aircraft and encountered fierce resistance from Iranian forces.

Iran’s military said several U.S. aircraft were destroyed during the operation, including two military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters. Footage posted on social media showed burned out aircraft wreckage, which Reuters verified was in the area.

A U.S. official told Reuters U.S. forces had to destroy at least one of the aircraft used in the rescue mission because it had malfunctioned.

The Wall Street Journal reported that two specially equipped MC-130Js aircraft used to carry out covert infiltrations and to remove troops from beyond enemy lines were blown up by U.S. forces after malfunctioning.

A senior administration official in Washington said the rescue had involved a CIA deception campaign spreading word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found the missing airman and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country.

While the Iranians were confused and uncertain of what was happening, the missing weapons officer was located inside a mountain crevice and rescued, the official said in a statement.

The rescue of the airman offered some good news for Trump, who has faced mounting pressure over a war that has sparked a global energy crisis and threatens lasting damage to the world economy.

On Saturday, he renewed a threat to intensify attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, saying it had 48 hours to open up shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply, which has been largely shut down.

In an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday, Trump said Iran must open the Strait “or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!”

Adding to the pressure, a senior Israeli defense official said Israel, which attacked a major petrochemicals facility on Saturday, was preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities within the next week, and was awaiting approval from Washington.

But despite the heavy damage to its military and civilian infrastructure by weeks of U.S. and Israeli attacks, Iran’s chokehold over Hormuz has given it a powerful weapon and Tehran showed no sign of complying with Trump’s demand.

It has continued to launch missile and drone attacks against Israel and on Sunday, it underlined its ability to hit U.S. allies in the Gulf by launching a drone attack on petrochemicals plants in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

The Revolutionary Guards warned that more attacks would follow if civilian targets in Iran were hit.

PEACE EFFORTS PROVE FRUITLESS

Opinion polls show the war is viewed with skepticism by a majority of Americans, with the risks to U.S. service personnel among their major concerns, along with regional stability and the impact on their own finances.

The war, which has spread into Lebanon, where Israel has resumed its campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, has killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, where a Lebanese soldier was killed on Sunday.

But efforts brokered by Pakistan to bring the two sides to an agreement have so far been fruitless. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran demanded a permanent halt to the U.S. and Israeli campaign launched on Feb. 28.

“What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us,” he said in a message on X.

As the war has continued, the damage to vital economic infrastructure in Iran and neighboring Gulf countries has mounted and the impact is set to be felt months and even years after the fighting ends.

With oil coming through Hormuz down to a trickle, ministers from OPEC oil-producing countries were due to meet on Sunday. But the blockade of the Strait and the damage to infrastructure meant an immediate boost to oil production was not considered possible.

Israel and the U.S. have hit military and civilian infrastructure across Iran, including areas near its Bushehr nuclear plant, which Iran said posed a serious risk of radioactive contamination.

But they have not managed to suppress Iran’s ability to strike back and Iranian drone attacks have continued against industrial infrastructure in the Gulf including oil facilities, a major aluminum plant and petrochemical sites in recent days.

Earlier Iran also attacked an Israel-affiliated vessel with a drone in the Strait, setting the ship on fire, state media said, citing the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ navy.

美国特种部队在伊朗成功营救了一名被击落的飞行员，此次复杂的行动避免了美国总统唐纳德·特朗普可能面临的危机。此时，这场战争已进入第六周，而外交解决战争的努力几乎没有取得任何进展。

特朗普于周日凌晨在社交媒体上宣布了这次营救行动，并将此次在伊朗山区进行的行动描述为“美国历史上最大胆的搜救行动之一”。

周五被击落的F-15战机上的武器官，一名空军士兵受伤，但“他会没事的”，特朗普通过新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特在X平台上发布的一条消息中表示。该战机的飞行员已于周五获救。

一位美国官员表示，以色列方面称其协助了此次行动，行动动用了数十架军用飞机，并遭到了伊朗军队的顽强抵抗。

伊朗军方称，行动中摧毁了数架美军飞机，其中包括两架军用运输机和两架黑鹰直升机。社交媒体上发布的视频显示了被烧毁的飞机残骸，路透社已证实这些残骸位于事发区域。

一位美国官员告诉路透社，由于一架飞机发生故障，美军不得不摧毁参与救援任务的至少一架飞机。

《华尔街日报》报道称，两架用于执行秘密渗透和从敌后撤离部队的特制 MC-130J 飞机在发生故障后被美军炸毁。

华盛顿一位高级政府官员表示，此次营救行动涉及中央情报局的欺​​骗行动，该行动在伊朗境内散布消息称，美军已经找到失踪的飞行员，并正在用地面转移他，以便将其撤离出境。

这位官员在一份声明中表示，虽然伊朗方面感到困惑和不确定发生了什么，但失踪的武器官在山缝中被找到并获救。

飞行员获救一事给特朗普带来了一些好消息，他因这场引发全球能源危机并可能对世界经济造成持久损害的战争而面临越来越大的压力。

周六，他再次威胁要加大对伊朗能源基础设施的攻击力度，称伊朗有 48 小时的时间重新开放霍尔木兹海峡的航道。霍尔木兹海峡是全球约五分之一石油和天然气供应的重要通道，目前已基本关闭。

周日，特朗普在社交媒体上发布了一篇充满脏话的帖子，称伊朗必须开放海峡，“否则你们将生活在地狱里——等着瞧吧！”

雪上加霜的是，一名以色列高级国防官员表示，以色列在周六袭击了一家大型石化设施后，正准备在下周袭击伊朗的能源设施，并正在等待华盛顿的批准。

尽管数周以来美国和以色列的袭击对伊朗的军事和民用基础设施造成了严重破坏，但伊朗对霍尔木兹海峡的控制使其拥有了强大的武器，德黑兰也没有表现出任何服从特朗普要求的迹象。

它继续对以色列发动导弹和无人机袭击，并在周日通过对巴林和阿布扎比的石化工厂发动无人机袭击，凸显了其打击美国在海湾盟友的能力。

伊朗革命卫队警告说，如果伊朗境内的平民目标遭到袭击，将会有更多袭击发生。

和平努力最终失败

民意调查显示，大多数美国人对这场战争持怀疑态度，他们主要担心的是美国军人面临的风险，其次是地区稳定和对自身财政的影响。

这场战争已经蔓延到黎巴嫩，以色列在那里恢复了对伊朗支持的真主党的军事行动。战争已造成数千人死亡，主要发生在伊朗和黎巴嫩，一名黎巴嫩士兵于周日在黎巴嫩丧生。

但巴基斯坦斡旋促成双方达成协议的努力迄今尚未取得成果。伊朗外长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇表示，德黑兰要求美国和以色列永久停止2月28日发起的军事行动。

“我们关心的是彻底、持久地结束这场强加于我们的非法战争的条件，”他在X上发布的一条消息中说道。

随着战争的持续，伊朗及其邻近海湾国家的重要经济基础设施遭受的破坏不断加剧，其影响将在战争结束后数月甚至数年内持续显现。

由于经由霍尔木兹海峡输送的石油已所剩无几，欧佩克产油国部长原定于周日举行会议。但海峡封锁和基础设施损毁意味着立即提高石油产量被认为是不可能的。

以色列和美国袭击了伊朗境内的军事和民用基础设施，包括布什尔核电站附近的地区。伊朗称，这些地区存在严重的放射性污染风险。

但他们未能压制伊朗的反击能力，近几天来，伊朗无人机继续袭击海湾地区的工业基础设施，包括石油设施、一家大型铝厂和石化厂。

据伊朗国家媒体援引革命卫队海军司令的话报道，此前伊朗还在海峡中使用无人机袭击了一艘与以色列有关联的船只，并放火烧毁了该船。