Second US combat plane targeted by Iran crashes near Strait of Hormuz: Report
Another US combat plane crashed on Friday, an A-10 Warthog, The New York Times reported, citing two anonymous US officials.
Iranian state media reported that the country's air defence systems targeted an "enemy" A-10 aircraft near the Strait of Hormuz.
The lone pilot of the aircraft was rescued, according to the NYT report.
NBC reported that two US helicopters taking part in the rescue effort were also hit by Iranian fire, and the service members were unharmed, according to an anonymous US official.
The A-10 is a single-seat jet designed to support ground forces. The US has sent thousands of troops to the region in recent weeks, in what many have speculated, and the US government has indicated, could be a ground operation to seize Iranian islands in the Strait of Hormuz.
The A-10 has been in service since 1997 and costs approximately $11.4m. A little over 700 were built between 1972 and 1984.
The planes were used in the Gulf War, the Iraq War in 2003, and the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, among several other wars the US has waged.
The A-10 crash comes after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air defences shot down a US F-15E fighter jet over southwestern Iran on Friday.
The F-15E is a more costly jet than the A-10, coming in at around $31m per jet, with 435 being built between 1985 and 2017. The newer versions of the F-15, the F-15EX cost between $90-100m.
A spokesperson for Iran’s military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said the jet had been “completely destroyed”, in comments carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
Iran initially stated the jet was an F-35, but US military sources later briefed media that it was an F-15E that had been downed.
Both the US and Iranian militaries launched a search for the pilot, with CBS News reporting on Friday that US forces had rescued one member of the two-man crew. The search for the second pilot is ongoing.
A local channel affiliated with state TV said the aircraft was targeted over central Iran and may have gone down in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, a rural and mountainous region
The station aired footage it said showed wreckage of the downed US jet.
The channel’s anchor called on residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to the police, offering a bounty for the capture of any US serviceman.
The IRGC also said that the downed fighter jet was from a squadron based at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, a US-operated air base in eastern England.
In late March, Iran said it had shot down a US F-35, a statement rejected by Washington.
At the time, the US military said an F-35 had made an emergency landing after a combat mission over Iran, adding that the pilot was in a stable condition.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the downing of the F-15E jet will not affect negotiations with Iran.
Iran rejects ceasefire with US
Iran said it has rejected the US proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire between both sides, the Fars News Agency said on Friday, citing an unnamed official source.
It's unclear whether Israel would also have been part of that agreement.
Fars' source said the US proposal was made on Wednesday through a third country that was not named.
Earlier this week, Trump said Iran was the one asking for a ceasefire. Iran has denied that claim.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Pakistan's efforts to mediate a ceasefire have hit a dead end after Tehran insisted it was unwilling to meet US officials in Islamabad, given what they called unacceptable American demands.
For its part, Iran wants a US withdrawal from all its Middle Eastern bases, and compensation for the destruction that has been wrought on schools, hospitals, and other integral infrastructure.
Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar are all reportedly trying to forge a mediation effort, given their strong ties to the Trump administration.
The WSJ also reported that Qatar is resisting pressure to become a mediator in any potential ceasefire talks. WSJ said that the US and regional countries were leaning on it to play that role, but it has so far refused.
Iran has likely planned for a drawn-out conflict.
More than a month into the joint US-Israeli war on the country, the Iranian military is still in possession of about half of its missile launchers and half of its Kamikaze drones, a US intelligence assessment said, first reported by CNN on Thursday.
The assessment flies in the face of the language of obliteration that Trump and the Israeli government have often used to describe Iran's capabilities, from the opening days of the war until as recently as Wednesday.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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