Iran Plane Downed: US Search for Missing Pilot Intensifies

The U.S. military continued a search Saturday for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, while Iran called on citizens to turn in the pilot, promising a reward. The downing of the planes marked the first time the United States has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the ongoing six-week conflict.

Two U.S. Planes Attacked

The plane, identified by Iran as a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday. One service member was rescued, and at least one remains missing. Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes.

In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, the military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but the status of a second service member on the fighter jet was not known. A U.S. military search-and-rescue operation continued Saturday.

President Donald Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts in a brief telephone interview with NBC News, but said the incident would not affect negotiations with Iran.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down, or whether Iran was involved. The status of the crew and the exact location of the crash were not immediately known.

An anchor on a TV channel affiliated with Iranian state television urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to the police. Throughout the war, Iran has made claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that were later found to be untrue. Friday was the first time the Iranian public was urged to look for a downed pilot.

Tech Giant Hit in Dubai Following Iranian Threats

An apparent Iranian drone damaged the Dubai headquarters of the American tech giant Oracle on Saturday after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened the firm. The attack targeted the headquarters, and footage verified by The Associated Press showed damage to the building, including a large hole in the southwestern corner.

The Dubai Media Office said a “minor incident caused by debris from an aerial interception” caused the damage, adding there were no injuries. Oracle, based in Austin, Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Guard has accused some of America’s largest tech companies of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations against the Islamic Republic and said they were legitimate targets. Earlier Iranian drone strikes hit Amazon Web Services facilities in both the UAE and Bahrain.

Iran Keeps a Chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz

In a social media post late Friday, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, issued a veiled threat to disrupt traffic through the Bab-el-Mandeb, a strategic waterway linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Qalibaf questioned the volume of oil, LNG, wheat, rice, and fertilizer shipments transiting the strait and which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes.

Iran has already greatly disturbed the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, sending fuel prices skyrocketing and jolting the world economy. World leaders are struggling to end Iran’s stranglehold on the strait as the U.N. Security Council is expected to take up the matter Saturday.

Trump has vacillated on America’s role in the strait, alternately threatening Iran if it does not open the strait and telling other nations to “go get your own oil.” On Friday, he said in a post on social media: “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began. In a review released Friday, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a U.S.-based group, said civilian casualties were clustered around strikes on security and state-linked sites “rather than indiscriminate bombardment” of urban areas.

More than two dozen people have died in Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, over 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.