Iran claims destroying several US planes during airman rescue mission

Published 05 Apr, 2026 03:23pm 1 min read
An E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft launches from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran. – Reuters
An E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft launches from the flight deck of the US Navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran. – Reuters

Several US aircraft were destroyed in the south of Iran’s ​Isfahan province during a US mission to ‌find a stranded airman, Iranian military officials said on Sunday.

US officials told Reuters late on ​Saturday that a second airman ​whose F-15 jet was downed on Friday in ⁠Iran was rescued, a day after ​the first crew member was recovered.

“Additional investigations ​by experts on the ground revealed that two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk ​helicopters of the US army were ​destroyed by our forces,” the spokesperson of the ‌unified ⁠command of Iranian armed forces said.

Separate statements by the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards said an Israeli Hermes-900 drone as ​well as ​a US ⁠MQ-9 drone were downed in Isfahan province.

Reuters could not immediately ​verify the Iranian accounts.

Iran’s semi-official ​Fars ⁠news agency said US search operations were conducted from Saturday evening in three different ⁠provinces, ​namely Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, ​Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, and Isfahan.

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