A source with knowledge of the incident confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that search-and-rescue operations are underway to locate the second pilot.
Iran shot down a United States fighter jet over central Iran in the first instance of a US aircraft being downed by enemy fire, a source with knowledge of the incident confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Friday.
The source also confirmed that one of the jet's two pilots was rescued, and search-and-rescue operations are underway to locate the other.
According to a New York Times report citing Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow who studies air power and technology at the Royal United Services Institute, the downed jet is suspected to be an F-15E Strike Eagle.
Bronk analyzed photos shared by Iranian state media that allegedly show wreckage of the jet and concluded that the markings on the material in the photos were consistent with those of the vertical stabilizer section of F-15E jets used by the 494th Fighter Squadron, which is based at the Royal Air Force Lakenheath base in the United Kingdom.
US President Donald Trump told The Independent late on Friday that he could not comment on what his course of action might be if Iranian forces got to the downed airman, saying, "We hope that's not going to happen."
Earlier on Friday, Trump told NBC News that the downing of the jet will not affect negotiations with Iran.
“No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war," said Trump.
Iranian media quoted a provincial official as saying early Saturday morning that Iran's search for the American pilot was "still ongoing."
Iran offers reward for captured pilot, mocks situation
A local television station operated by the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aired an announcement declaring that there would be a reward issued to any civilians who could capture or locate the US pilots and turn them in to law enforcement.
Additionally, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf mocked the incident in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.
Ghalibaf sarcastically labeled the US-Israeli war on Iran a “brilliant no-strategy war," adding, "Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."
He claimed that the war has been downgraded from “regime change” to “Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?” despite much of Iran’s air defenses having already been crippled in strikes that killed a number of senior Iranian officials, including former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Reuters contributed to this article.
