Iran shot down a US military aircraft over its territory, officials said – nationally
Iran shot down a US warplane on Friday, prompting both sides to search for surviving personnel as the war looks set to escalate as US President Donald Trump threatens more attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was covering the area near where the plane went down in southwest Iran. The governor of the state has promised rewards for whoever captured or killed the pilot.
A US military official confirmed that a military plane was shot down and a search is underway.
Iranian news agencies say US helicopters have been flying down the ground searching and have video footage of residents shooting at each other.
There were no confirmed details of the search or the type of aircraft that was shot down, which the Iranian military said was an F-35, a single seater. The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The loss underscored the dangers still facing American and Israeli airstrikes over Iran, despite Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s assertions that their forces have complete control of the skies.
Nearly five weeks after the US and Israel launched a wave of strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there is no sign of an end to the war, which has already killed thousands of people and threatened lasting damage to the country’s economy.
On Thursday, Trump posted pictures on social media showing billowing dust and smoke as US strikes hit the newly constructed B1 bridge between Tehran and nearby Karaj, which was due to open this year, and said the attack was yet to follow.
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“Our military, the largest and most powerful (so far!) anywhere on Earth, has not even begun to destroy what is left of Iran. Bridges next, then Power Plants!,” He wrote in the next post.
Despite the pressure, Iran has been able to push back against Israel and attack the US-allied Gulf states, which have so far refrained from directly joining the war for fear of further escalation.
On Friday, as Trump threatened to hit bridges and power plants, Iran struck a power and water plant in Kuwait, underscoring the dangers of Gulf States that rely heavily on desalination plants for drinking water.
Trump urged Iran’s leaders to seek peace, saying on social media that Iran “knows what needs to be done, and needs to be done, FAST!
But Tehran has shown no signs of relenting and Trump is under increasing pressure to find a quick solution, with his own anger at home and his Republican Party at risk of losing Congress in November elections.
Negotiations by mediators with the new leaders in Iran have shown little progress, and polls show many Americans oppose the war.
‘Take oil and make wealth’
At the same time, the economic impact has been felt globally, with Iran’s hold on the strategic shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz giving it the ability to hold oil and gas.
Trump has expressed anger at US allies who have rejected his calls to help reopen the road, which normally carries a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas. On Friday, he said reopening it would not be difficult.
“With more time, we can easily open the HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE OIL, MAKE WEALTH,” he told Truth Social.
The US and Israel say they have reduced Iran’s military capabilities. But Iranian media released daily reports of attacks on residential areas, including schools, medicine providers and health facilities. On Thursday, the Pasteur Institute in central Tehran was severely damaged, the Ministry of Health said.
On Friday, a drone struck a Red Crescent warehouse in the Choghadak area of the southern province of Bushehr.
More than 100 American legal experts said the behavior of the US military and the statements of senior US officials “raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes.”
For its part, Iran has continued to strike targets around the Gulf.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery was attacked by drones. Other attacks were reported in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Missile debris landed near the Israeli port of Haifa, a major oil refinery.
Global financial markets have been volatile in anticipation of a possible end to the war and the reopening of the Strait, where only one ship has been able to sail.
The ban has also put pressure on fertilizer exports, threatening a humanitarian crisis in developing countries in Asia and Africa, underscored by data showing a sharp increase in world food prices in March.
On Friday, a container ship belonging to the French group CMA CGM passed by, MarineTraffic ship tracking data showed, a sign that Iran may not view France as hostile. A liquefied natural gas vessel belonging to Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines also passed through.
Oil markets were closed after US crude prices gained 11% on Thursday following Trump’s speech which gave no clear signs that the war would end.
The UN Security Council is expected to vote Saturday on Bahrain’s decision to protect commercial vessels in and around the region, diplomats said, but veto-wielding China has made clear its opposition to authorizing armed intervention.
