Tehran: Press TV, Iran’s state media, published unverified photos on Saturday showing alleged wreckage of a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Kuwait, claiming Iranian forces targeted it. The US administration has offered no immediate confirmation.
Mehr News Agency claimed that an Iranian projectile hit the helicopter during a US search operation for a pilot ejected from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet, as published by The Economic Times.
In the Iranian theatre, American forces successfully recovered one crew member from the F-15E, which crashed over Iran on Friday, according to CNN. The rescued individual “is alive, in US custody, and receiving medical treatment,” but “search and rescue operations were ongoing” for the second crew member.
CNN’s analysis confirmed Iranian media images match an F-15, with footage geolocated to Khuzestan Province showing low-flying aircraft in air-to-air refueling formation.
The Wall Street Journal, citing Iranian broadcaster IRIB, noted a map shared on X circling the search region. Debris identified the jet as belonging to the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, UK — marking the first US aircraft downed over Iran in the current conflict.
US President Donald Trump downplayed diplomatic impacts, telling NBC News the destruction “will have no bearing on diplomatic discussions with Iran.” Dismissing concerns, he stated: “No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in a war.”
On potential retaliation if the missing airman faces harm, Trump was circumspect. The Independent reported he declined specifics in a Friday phone interview, saying: “Well, I can’t comment on it because we hope that’s not going to happen.”
Tehran amplified claims further, with its military asserting a successful strike on a US A-10 aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera citing Tasnim news agency. The army public relations team said the ground-attack jet, designed for close air support against armoured vehicles, “was targeted in waters south of and around the strategic waterway.”
This followed reports of a second US Air Force crash in the Middle East on Friday. Neither the Pentagon nor White House commented immediately on the veracity of these assertions.
