Rescue teams early in the day on 4 April continued to search for an American crew member missing after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran.
A U.S. official told Radio Liberty that another crew member was found after the two-seat F-15E was shot down.
Separately, a U.S. official said later that another U.S. Air Force warplane, an A-10 attack aircraft, had crashed in the Persian Gulf and that the sole pilot in the incident had been found. No other details are yet available.
Iranian state media also reported the shooting down of both aircraft. Iranian officials said they, too, are searching for the missing crew member of the first plane and urged citizens to report to authorities any information that could lead to the capture of the pilot.
A U.S. official who spoke to Radio Liberty did not provide details of the rescue mission in Iran.
The US military has not commented on the situation, and US President Donald Trump told NBC News that the sale of the plane would not affect negotiations with Iran as it continues to press Tehran to accept the US peace deal, which regime officials have so far rejected.
If a crew member is captured by Iranian forces, it would further exacerbate tensions and likely complicate US efforts to try to completely destroy Tehran’s military assets and force the regime to accept the peace terms set by Trump.
Western officials told reporters in a phone call that Israel had postponed planned strikes on Iran so as not to impede the search for the American crew member.
If confirmed, it would be the first U.S. military aircraft lost to Iranian fire since the Middle East war began, although U.S. warplanes have crashed or been hit by Iranian missiles or drones on the ground.
On 12 March, six US servicemen were killed when a KC-135 refuelling plane crashed after colliding in mid-air with another refuelling plane.
Just over two weeks later, on 27 March, an Iranian missile and drone strike on an airbase in Saudi Arabia injured at least 12 US military personnel and severely damaged at least two KC-135 refuelling aircraft.
Three US Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles fighter jets were shot down over Kuwait on 2 March by friendly fire from Kuwaiti air defence systems. Six crew members ejected safely in Kuwait.