Earlier, US President Donald Trump said the US recovered a second crew member of an F-15E that went down over Iran on Friday in what he called a “daring” search and rescue operation.
Iran’s military has called it “a deception and escape mission”, insisting it was “completely foiled”.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were “many questions and uncertainties” about the operation.
“The area where the American pilot was claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central Iran,” Baqaei said.
“The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all.”
He added that the operation was “a disaster” for the United States.
Iran’s military said several US aircraft had to “make emergency landings” in southern Isfahan province after being hit during the mission, with the US “forced to heavily bombard the downed aircraft” as a result.
The so-called US military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled,” said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military’s central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya.
In a video statement carried by state television, he said that “two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed” during the operation.
He added that Trump went ahead with “empty rhetoric and diversion, although the reality on the ground demonstrates the superior position of Iran’s powerful armed forces.”
State media shared images of charred wreckage scattered across a desert area, with smoke still rising from the site. Iranian media reported that strikes during the rescue operation killed five people in the southwest, although it was not immediately clear whether they were civilians or military.
Meanwhile, the US Vice President admitted losses and wrote on X: AFTERMATH: US forces destroyed two C-130 aircraft on the ground in southern Iran after successfully rescuing the downed F-15E crew. The temporary forward operating base used during last night’s high-risk rescue mission was demolished to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Special Forces completed the daring extraction under fire, then ensured nothing of value was left behind for Iran. Zero US casualties. Mission accomplished. This is what decisive American military power looks like.
Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program
Iran possesses the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, serving as a key deterrent and strategic tool for the IRGC. The program has shifted from reliance on foreign designs (North Korean/Russian) to domestic, solid-fuel technology for better mobility and faster launch times.
The program is focused on short- and medium-range missiles (SRBMs/MRBMs) with ranges of 2,000–3,000 km, and includes underground “missile cities” and advanced hypersonic, maneuvering, and precision-guided technology.
MRBMs are the backbone of the force, including the Khorramshahr-4 (Khaibar) (2,000 km), Sejjil (2,000 km), and Emad. SRBMs include the Shahab-1/2 (Scud-based) and the Qiam-1 (700-800 km), often used by regional proxies. Iran has developed the highly maneuverable Fattah hypersonic missile (announced in 2023) with precision guidance. The arsenal is intended to counter superior air forces in the region, particularly those of the U.S. and Israel.
Iran received multiple large shipments of sodium perchlorate from China, totaling approximately 3,000 tons. It is a precursor in the production of ammonium perchlorate, the primary oxidizer in solid-fuelled rocket motors used in Iran’s MRBMs.
During the 2026 Iran War, ballistic missiles were used to target U.S. bases as well as targets in neighboring Arab states and Israel. All of Europe, and in particular Britain, France, and Germany, are in range of Iranian MRBMs, while major US cities such as Washington and New York, beyond range at approximately 10,000 km away, may be targeted by missiles launched from the sea.
Iran was assumed to possess more than 3,000 missiles in total (across all ranges). Iran-backed Iraqi militias have received “a couple of dozen” short-range ballistic missiles. Iran employs mobile multi-axle trucks to transport most missiles, enabling dispersion.
Several of Iran’s ballistic missiles have the range and payload capacity to carry a nuclear warhead, should Iran choose to develop one. This has drawn international concern and sanctions. The Shahab-3, based on North Korean technology, is one of Iran’s most sophisticated ballistic missiles. With a range of about 1,300 kilometers, it could carry a nuclear warhead.
Special Operations – Quite Possible
On September 8, 2024, during “Operation Many Ways”, Israeli Special Forces destroyed a Deep Layer facility, which was an underground Iranian-funded missile manufacturing site located near Masyaf in western Syria.
The site was a flagship project of Iran’s missile production program, and intended to supply precision missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon and to the Assad regime in Syria.
The underground facility had been built because an earlier Israeli airstrike on an aboveground rocket engine manufacturing site in Jamraya, southern Syria, had destroyed it. By 2021, the underground facility, buried 70 to 130 meters into a mountain, had become operational, with missile production capabilities nearing full scale.
The horseshoe-shaped structure featured three primary entrances: one for raw materials, another for completed missiles, and a third for logistics and office access. Israel estimated the facility’s annual output could range from 100 to 300 missiles, with a range of over 300 kilometers.
The site was intentionally located 200 km north of the Israeli border and 45 km from Syria’s western coastline to keep away from Israeli strikes. Israel had been monitoring the facility closely and refining airstrike plans.
In October 2023, the elite Israeli Shaldag unit, known for long-range penetration operations, and Unit 669, specializing in combat search-and-rescue, were selected for the mission.
The operation began with 100 commandos and 20 medics boarding four CH-53 “Yasur” heavy helicopters, escorted by AH-64 attack helicopters, 21 fighter jets. Other platforms were five drones and 14 reconnaissance planes. The formations flew over the Mediterranean to avoid detection by Syrian radar.
After entering Syria, the helicopters flew exceptionally low, nap-of-the-earth (NOE) operations, to evade the country’s densest air defense zones. Fighter aircraft launched diversionary strikes on other Syrian targets, taking attention away from the Masyaf region. The helicopters landed near the facility’s entrances, deploying troops. A surveillance drone launched by the commandos monitored the area.
Commandos secured the perimeter and then breached the heavily guarded facility. Once inside, the team planted nearly 660 pounds of explosives along the production line and its support facilities.
The team then exited and detonated the explosives, remotely destroying the production site. The mission was completed in less than 3 hours, and returned using the same helicopters.
Was the US attempting to do something similar?
By ET Online Desk with Inouts by AFP and EurAsian Times OPED
