Tehran: Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Sunday shared images of destroyed aircraft wreckage, sarcastically warning that the United States risks utter ruin from further such “victories.”
“If the United States gets three more victories like this, it will be utterly ruined,” he said in a post on X, referencing the downing of a US F-15 jet amid escalating West Asia tensions.
Iran’s military claimed a major success earlier Sunday, announcing it had shot down two US Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport plane in southern Isfahan, agencies reported.
“After enemy attempts to rescue their downed fighter pilot, invading drones in southern Isfahan were shot down in a joint operation by IRGC and Basij forces, with support from local law enforcement. Two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 military transport plane were shot down in southern Isfahan,” said the spokesman of the Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, according to Press TV.
The incident stemmed from an F-15 shootdown, prompting a high-stakes US rescue mission.
President Donald Trump confirmed the operation’s success on Truth Social, announcing the recovery of the second crew member — the weapons systems officer — who had gone missing in Iranian territory.
“This was the most daring search and rescue operation for the US military,” Trump wrote, adding that the government will “not leave a warfighter behind.”
He noted the crew member sustained injuries but provided no further details on losses.
Ghalibaf’s pointed remark evoked memories of past US humiliations, such as the failed 1980 Operation Eagle Claw rescue in Iran. While Tehran touted the downings as a defensive triumph, amplifying claims in some reports to two C-130s, Washington acknowledged the jet loss and crew ejections but stayed silent on helicopter or transport aircraft casualties.
