A second American warplane was hit by Iran Friday and the pilot is safe, according to people familiar with the matter. The plane was an A-10 Thunderbolt, commonly known as a Warthog.
Earlier Friday, a F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran and one of the two crew members was rescued, two U.S. officials have confirmed. The status of the second crew member is unknown as a search-and-rescue operation continues.
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said earlier that an American warplane was targeted by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses. An Iranian news agency with close ties to the country’s security services circulated photographs purporting to show wreckage of a downed jet. Iranian state television said Iranians would be rewarded for finding any American crewmembers and turning them over alive.
Qatar is resisting U.S. efforts to serve as a key mediator in potential cease-fire talks with Iran, as the current push for a deal has hit a dead end, mediators said.
A French-owned container ship sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first known passage by a vessel with ties to Western Europe since Iran began blocking the waterway.
Strikes on Gulf states halted operations at the United Arab Emirates’s largest natural-gas processing facility, damaged a power and water plant in Kuwait and started fires at a Kuwaiti refinery.
Here’s a look at what F-15E jet fighters are doing over Iran.
One of the two crew members from the U.S. jet fighter that was shot down over Iran has been rescued, two U.S. officials have confirmed. The status of the second crew member is unknown as a search-and-rescue operation continues.
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said earlier that an American warplane was targeted by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses. An Iranian news agency with close ties to the country’s security services circulated photographs purporting to show wreckage of a downed jet. Iranian state television said Iranians would be rewarded for finding any American crewmembers and turning them over alive.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday said a military option in the Hormuz is unrealistic, and freedom of navigation in the waterway can only be re-established through coordination with Iran.
The Iranian state media said to show fragments of a downed U.S. jet in this picture said to be taken in central Iran and released on April 3, 2026. IRIB/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
U.S. Air Force Combat Ejections Are Rare. Here Are Some Examples.
In 2011, an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter crashed in Libya after the aircraft experienced mechanical problems, prompting a rapid military rescue response.
A U.S. F-117 stealth fighter was shot down during the Kosovo War in 1999.
Multiple aircraft were downed in the 1991 Desert Storm campaign.
U.S. forces were most recently impacted when the Kuwaiti military mistakenly hit US F-15E Strike Eagles in the first days of Operation Epic Fury. Six crew members ejected safely and were recovered after the friendly fire incident.
