One of the pilots of an American fighter plane that crashed in Iran was rescued and the search is underway for the other

American forces rescued one of the pilots of a warplane that crashed in Iran, while search operations continue for the other, according to what American media reported on Friday.
Iranian media broadcast scenes of the plane’s wreckage, while the authorities offered a financial reward to whoever was able to arrest the American “pilot or pilots,” according to what state television reported.

Axios and CBS News reported, citing sources they did not mention, that one of the pilots had already been rescued by American special forces, while searches were still ongoing for the other.

According to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the plane is an F-15E, a fighter carrying a pilot and a weapons systems officer sitting in the back seat.

CNN also indicated that an analysis of images of the wreckage broadcast by Iranian media shows that it belongs to an F-15 plane, and not to the stealth F-35 plane, as some Iranian reports reported.

American media reported that President Donald Trump was informed of the incident, but there was no immediate official comment from the White House or the US Department of Defense.

It was reported that specialized American forces were carrying out a search and rescue operation, in what may be the first loss of a warplane inside Iran since the start of the war that Trump ordered a month ago against the Islamic Republic.

Pictures and clips circulated on social media and Iranian media showed American helicopters and planes flying at low altitude over the site where the plane was suspected to have crashed.