US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle on July 16, 2020.
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A crew member was rescued after Iranian forces shot down a US fighter jet on Friday, MS NOW reported.
The United States is searching for the missing second crew member of the F-15 fighter jet, MS Now reported, citing two U.S. officials.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command did not immediately comment. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the crash of the U.S. military plane and the search for the crew, a White House official said.
It is believed to be the first known loss of a U.S. military aircraft in Iran since the war there began in late February.
Meanwhile, a second US military plane involved in the war crashed on Friday and the pilot was rescued, officials told MS Now.
The downing of the airliner came at a delicate time, with the United States showing little sign of slowing its attacks on Iran, and reports of possible peace talks offering no relief. President Trump told NBC News on Friday that the downed plane would not affect the possibility of negotiations with Iran.
The war has now been going on for more than a month, and the death toll from the conflict is approaching 5,100 across the Middle East, according to MS NOW. Tanker traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz has been choked, threatening supplies of crude oil, fertilizer and other key commodities.
In a social media post on Friday, President Trump claimed that given time, the United States could “easily” open the strait and that it would “get the oil and make the riches.”
President Trump also threatened late Thursday to escalate attacks on Iranian infrastructure. He said the US “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left of Iran,” citing bridges and power plants as examples.
President Trump said in remarks Wednesday that the United States would take Iran “back to the Stone Age” and attack it.
