Iran mocks: The U.S. and Israel's war has downgraded to "looking for pilots," truly genius

【By / Observer Network Wang Kaiwen】

Local time on April 3, two U.S. Air Force fighter jets crashed in Iran and near the Strait of Hormuz one after another, and one member of the crew remains missing to this day.

Multiple U.S. media outlets reported that an F-15E fighter jet of the U.S. Air Force was shot down over Iran on the 3rd. U.S. search and rescue aircraft and helicopters entered Iranian territory, found and rescued one crew member, and are looking for a second crew member. According to reports, this is the first known U.S. Air Force fighter jet lost within Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched military operations against Iran.

Images released by Iran showing the wreckage of the shot-down U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter

Later on the evening of the 3rd, a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed near the Strait of Hormuz. There was only one pilot, who has been rescued. The U.S. side did not provide further details, including the specific location where the incident occurred.

Iran’s military public relations department said in a statement that that day, in the southern waters near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s national integrated air defense network, through tracking and monitoring, successfully shot down a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft. Iran said the aircraft belonged to “an aggressive hostile force.”

Meanwhile, Iran released footage showing the moment its air defense missile hit the U.S. A-10 attack aircraft.

On April 3, Kalibaf, the chairman of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, posted on social media, mocking the downing of the U.S. military aircraft.

“After (they claim) they’ve beaten Iran 37 times in a row, this war they launched—(the U.S. and Israel) thinking themselves so smart but with absolutely no strategy—has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please.’ What an astonishing step forward! Absolutely brilliant!” Kalibaf wrote.

Screenshot of Kalibaf’s X account

According to a report by the Associated Press, a local channel of Iran’s national television broadcast the following statement that day: “If you capture the enemy pilots alive and hand them over to the police, there will be a generous reward.” In addition, the scrolling caption on the screen urged the public to “shoot at them if you see them,” and provided images of U.S. aircraft allegedly seen in the area that have been circulating on social media.

According to a report by CNN, U.S. President Trump has not made any public comment regarding the search and rescue efforts for the members of the downed aircraft. In an interview with NBC on the 3rd, he said that the downing of U.S. aircraft over Iran would not affect any negotiations with that country.

A senior Israeli official confirmed to CNN that, to avoid interfering with search and rescue operations, Israel on the 3rd postponed part of the planned strikes against Iran. Two Israeli sources said that Israel has also offered to provide intelligence support.

Meanwhile, according to U.S. officials, two U.S. helicopters were hit by Iranian fire while searching for the pilot of the downed U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet inside Iran that day, causing injuries to personnel on board the U.S. side. However, both helicopters have safely returned to their base.

This article is an exclusive report by Observer Network. Without authorization, it may not be reproduced.

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Edited by Shi Xiu Zhen SF183