A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle on 16 July 2020.
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The U.S. was searching for the crew of an American fighter jet Friday after it was downed in Iran, a U.S. official told MS NOW.
It isn’t clear if the plane was shot down or went down for another reason, MS NOW said. The jet was an F-15, which has two crew members, and the whereabouts of the servicemembers was unknown, according to MS NOW.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command didn’t immediately comment.
The New York Times said Iran shot down the fighter jet, citing U.S. and Israeli officials and Iranian state media, though MS NOW said it hadn’t independently verified the reporting.
It appeared to be the first known loss of a U.S. jet in the country since the war in Iran started in late February.
The downing of the jet comes at a delicate time, when the U.S. has showed few signs of slowing its assault on Iran and reports of potential peace talks did not yield a breakthrough. The death toll from the conflict is nearing 5,100 across the Middle East, according to MS NOW.
The war has now gone on for more than a month, suffocating tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz and threatening supplies of crude oil, fertilizer and other key commodities.
President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post Friday that the U.S. could “easily” open the strait, “TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”
Trump also threatened late Thursday to escalate attacks on Iranian infrastructure. He said the U.S. “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” citing bridges and electric power plants.
In remarks Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. would attack Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”
