【Iran Crisis】Trump Discloses Rescue Details: The Escape Was So Hair-raising It Could Be a Hollywood Movie—The Leaker Revealed to Iran That There Was a Second Pilot

U.S. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and General Raisin Kane held a press conference at the White House early Tuesday morning Hong Kong time to discuss the achievements of the Iran search-and-rescue operation for two pilots. Trump said, “This is the most difficult attempt the U.S. military has ever made—this is a historic rescue that will go down in history.”

Not everyone in the military agrees with the rescue

However, Trump said that not everyone in the military agreed with the rescue operation. “Some very professional military personnel do not recommend doing so, because it could result in hundreds of people being killed, so there are people within the military who say this isn’t a wise move.”

In addition, Trump said that during the rescue operation, for an hour there was no discussion about the first rescue, and then someone leaked some information. “The leaker leaked that we had rescued one person, but that there was another one out there whom we were trying to rescue,” and they hoped to find that leaker.

The prosecution investigates the leaker

“Someone leaked information that someone was missing. They didn’t even know someone was missing until this leaker provided information. So, whoever did it, we believe we can find out, because we’re going to look for the media company that published this information. We will tell them, ‘For the sake of national security, turn the person in, otherwise go to prison.’ We know who we’re talking about. Because there are some things you can’t do. When they did it, suddenly, the whole of Iran knew that on their land there was a pilot fighting for survival. This also made the pilot’s situation more difficult, and it made the situation for the personnel who went in to search and rescue even more difficult.”

So Iran issued a major announcement offering a huge reward to anyone who captured the pilot. Therefore, besides facing one military force, there were also millions of people trying to get that prize.

Trump said that to determine the truth is a matter of national security. And anyone who reported this news—if they don’t reveal their source—will go to prison.

Shoulder-fired heat-tracking missile hits F-15

Trump said that late Thursday night, a U.S. F-15 fighter jet, while taking part in “Operation Epic Fury,” crashed deep in Iran. The missile that hit the aircraft was a shoulder-fired heat-tracking missile. Both crew members ejected from the aircraft and survived on the ground in Iran.

Trump said he immediately ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to take all necessary measures to bring the brave warriors home. “This is a decision involving risk. Because we might lose 100 people because of it, not 1 or 2 people. This is a difficult decision. But in the U.S. military, we do not leave any American behind. We absolutely do not do that.”

First mission: 7-hour search-and-rescue in daylight, firefight

Hegseth said the first mission was a bold thunderstrike in broad daylight, striking directly to the heart of the matter. After knowing the whereabouts of the pilot was obtained at midnight, less than two hours had passed.

As for the second mission, Hegseth said that when we knew the pilot’s location, we carried it out immediately as well. During the execution of the final mission, inside a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), there was an active video-teleconference communication (VTC). At the top of the screen it said 45 hours and 56 minutes, and during that time, the call stayed open to keep coordination going.

Trump said that in just a few hours of the first mission, U.S. Armed Forces deployed 21 military aircraft into hostile airspace, and many of the aircraft were flying at extremely low altitudes and were being shot at. “When you fly that low, a rifle can pose a threat to you, but low-flying also has some advantages.” Over a span of 7 hours in daylight, there were times when they faced extremely intense enemy fire, and a helicopter took a large number of bullet hits.

Trump said that the first wave of search-and-rescue forces successfully found the F-15’s pilot. An HH-60 “Jolly Green II” helicopter retrieved him from the enemy-occupied area and faced intense gunfire at extremely close range. “What’s surprising is that when you see the level of damage to the machine, somehow no one was injured.”

General Kane added that at 10:10 p.m. Eastern Time—4:40 a.m. local Iran time—the Joint Personnel Recovery Center, responsible for the Central Command’s area of responsibility, announced that a U.S. Air Force F-15E “Strike Eagle” fighter (call sign: Dude 44) crashed over hostile territory in Iran and had initiated an “Isolated Personnel Recovery Event.”

Kane said that shortly afterward, a U.S. Air Force combat search-and-rescue task force was deployed. The task force included A-10 “Warthogs” fighters playing the role of “Sandy,” an HC-130 “Combat King II” rescue aircraft, an HH-60 “Jolly Green II” helicopter, and a U.S. Air Force special tactics team composed of combat rescue officers and pararescuemen. Under the cover of daylight, they penetrated deep into enemy territory. Their objective was to find, stabilize, and rescue Dude 44 Alpha behind enemy lines.

The rescue task force crossed the coastline and entered Iranian airspace. With the fighter attack formation as cover, they entered the target area amid enemy fire. Along the way, the helicopters received in-flight refueling from a C-130, and continued moving forward into the target area.

At the same time, ahead of them were A-10 Sandy aircraft, other unmanned drones, and tactical aircraft. In close-quarters engagements, these aircraft heavily suppressed the enemy and exchanged fire so that the enemy would stay away from the front-seat pilot and so the rescue forces could enter the target area.

After the A-10 Sandy aircraft was hit, it continued the mission

In this firefight, one of the Sandy aircraft (mainly responsible for communicating with the downed pilot) was hit by enemy fire. The pilot continued fighting and continued carrying out the mission. Then, during withdrawal, he flew the aircraft to another country and determined that it could not land safely. It was an A-10 Sandy aircraft. The pilot then decided to eject over friendly territory and was quickly and safely recovered. He is currently in good condition.

After rescuing Dude 44 Alpha, the HH-60 “Jolly Green” helicopter units were attacked by all Iranian fighters carrying light weapons. One of the aircraft—the one following behind—was hit multiple times. The crew suffered minor injuries, but they will all be fine.

Sandy is the callsign named after a flight call used during the Vietnam War to execute this kind of mission for the first time, when A-1 aircraft and A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft performed it. Sandy had only one mission: find the survivors, guide the rescue forces forward, and place itself between the survivors on the ground and the enemy. They were committed to this mission. That is why they exist, and that is the goal they trained for over the years. The A-10 unit and the rescue unit performed excellently during the process of rescuing Dude 44 Alpha, and he was rescued on Friday afternoon.

Second mission: about 50 hours

Trump said that the second crew member was a colonel and weapons systems officer (WSO). When flying at that kind of speed, he landed in a location that was quite far away. “Even if you eject two or three seconds late, the distance would still be several miles—so far apart, because you’re flying too fast.” He was seriously injured and was heavily surrounded by militia and Iranian authorities. Iranian authorities told communities and people inside the country that whoever found this pilot would receive a huge reward.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said that while searching for the pilot, a deception campaign was carried out to mislead the Iranians who were desperately searching for our pilot. He said that on Saturday morning, they found and confirmed that the pilot was still alive and concealed in a crevice in a mountainous area, while the enemy still could not detect it. But the CIA had already found him. This confirmed information was relayed by Hegseth to Trump, and the search-and-rescue operation quickly moved into the execution phase.

Trump said that this seasoned officer, after being wounded, climbed into the treacherous mountain area. While climbing steep cliffs, he bled a lot and handled his own wounds. “To avoid being hunted, you have to stay as far as possible from the crash site. The farther you go, the better, because they will all gather at that location.”

He contacted U.S. forces and sent his location. They had with them a highly precise, pager-like device. “When they carried out these missions, they made sure the device had enough battery power and was in good working condition. And this time it played a huge role—it miraculously saved his life.”

He kept climbing to higher ground. The terrain became more and more dangerous and truly very hard to find. The U.S. military immediately launched a large-scale operation. After evading pursuit for nearly 48 hours, they rescued him from a mountain base. “When you are in danger and you keep bleeding, that’s a long time.”

Only after climbing did communications begin

Hegseth said that after the pilot evaded pursuit for more than a day and climbed the rugged mountain ridge, when he finally could activate his emergency responder, his first message was simple but powerful: “God is good.”

Hegseth said, “In that kind of isolation and danger, his faith and fighting spirit shine brightly. On Friday (Good Friday) he was shot down. All of Saturday he hid in a cave and in crevices, and then he was rescued on Sunday. As Easter Sunday’s sun rose, he flew out of Iran. A resurrected pilot. Everyone safely went home and was found; and one nation was celebrating: God is good.”

Trump said that the second rescue mission deployed 155 aircraft, including 4 bombers, 64 fighter jets, 48 air refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, and more. They were mobilized from all directions, and a large part of it was to draw the enemy away.

Scatter fake reports across 7 locations

“We wanted them to think he was in another place, because they had deployed a massive force there—thousands of people searching. So we wanted them to search different areas. We scattered fake intelligence all over right above them. We set up seven different locations to make them think he was there. They were very confused. They said, ‘Wait, there’s one group of people here, and another group over there.’ It was extremely amazing.”

They set up all these different locations to make everyone believe he was there. With nine aircraft hovering in a small area—that was 25 miles away along the coast. “This was an astonishing display of skill, precision, lethality, and force. The U.S. military arrived in the area—truly the area—engaged the enemy in combat, rescued the trapped officer, destroyed all threats, and then withdrew from Iranian territory, with no personnel losses.”

“Something moving 40 miles away”

Trump said that at the time Ratcliffe said, “The people we called are right there. He is 40 miles from us, and we saw something moving on the mountain.” It was nighttime then, and they aimed the camera at it for 45 minutes. He didn’t move at all, and they said, “This doesn’t seem right.” But we saw what was moving. It was a huge mountain. The mountain was covered with shrubs and trees. We saw something moving 40 miles away. Ratcliffe added again that it was a person’s head; he was moving. Then suddenly, after 45 minutes, he moved a lot. He stood up. They said, “We found him.” This really is an incredible thing. We had an idea of where he might be, but not very specifically. It was a big mountain. So I have to thank the CIA. I don’t think they got enough credit.

No runway, trapped at a farm

The U.S. military deployed two large, very old aircraft, loaded with lots of supplies. Because entering required more equipment than exiting, and they needed to be able to climb mountains. But the sand there was wet and soft, and takeoff could be problematic due to the aircraft’s weight. On top of that, with everyone jumping back onto the aircraft, the aircraft got stuck quite deeply.

So a contingency plan was activated: send lighter, faster aircraft to land on the sand flats, take them away, and blow up the old aircraft. “We blew them to pieces. Because although there was some equipment on the aircraft that we wanted to take with us, I don’t think it was worth spending another 4 hours unloading it, nor did I want anyone to inspect our air-defense equipment and other equipment.” Therefore, those very old large aircraft were destroyed.

Race against time: reloading three helicopters in 10 minutes

Within 10 minutes, the U.S. military unloaded the helicopters from the aircraft, removed the rotor blades, and reloaded the three helicopters. These helicopters were very small, but had tremendous power. Because they were small, they could enter certain specific areas.

“A three-aircraft contingency plan was on standby, because they originally thought the sand was too soft and the aircraft might not be able to take off. As it turned out, the aircraft really got stuck. There was no runway there—it was a farm. Even though it was a farm, it worked.”

“If you were filming a movie about finding filming locations, this is absolutely ‘Central Casting.’ And we were sitting right there in the most dangerous area of Iran. So these aircraft flew in, these pilots flew extremely fast. Everyone got on the aircraft with only 15-minute intervals. One was loaded and took off; another was loaded and took off; the third was loaded and took off. We kept watching. We said, this is incredible. In many ways, I was more impressed by the contingency plans we had than by what would have happened if we had a runway or solid ground. It’s a magical thing.”

“We stayed up late that night, and then we waited for those backup aircraft to fly in. We said, ‘Hurry up, get in there.’ Because they were waiting at a farm without a runway, and there was wet mud and sand everywhere—it would literally swallow the aircraft alive. We waited and we said, ‘We hope that aircraft can land and take off.’ They flew in like magic—boom, boom, boom—one after another. I was extremely impressed.”

“We were worried, ‘Good Lord, if they can’t get in and also can’t take off quickly, then we’re at a disadvantage.’ That’s what you call ‘Iran Prime’ time.”

Like in Maduro, we entered a huge military base with thousands of soldiers, and within just a few minutes, he was trapped behind those iron gates. They quickly destroyed those iron gates, and within minutes, he was brought up and put on the back seats of those aircraft. It was a similar kind of organization.

“If it’s necessary, we will bring them back home safely at any cost. We will certainly bring our people back home safely.”

Kane added that during several hours in the daytime, the rear-seat weapons systems officer (Dude 44 Bravo) used every possible method to evade pursuit. The U.S. military, the CIA, and other agencies worked hard to try to precisely locate Dude 44 Bravo. During this time, the enemy continued searching for 44 Bravo. The joint forces continued to strike them again and again.

While combating the bad weather in Iran and the enemy’s pursuit, on Saturday, upon the recommendation of the Central Command commander, and with approval from the Secretary of Defense and the President, a rescue task force was launched to rescue Dude 44 Bravo.

This mission also required approval from the President and the Secretary of Defense, but this time they deployed a much larger force, which was determined based on the time the enemy was preparing to look for 44 Bravo.

This force was also protected by A-10 Warthog fighters (using the Sandy call sign), and this force had only one mission: do everything possible to bring the Americans home.

After Saturday night to Sunday dawn, the units fought their way through and successfully rescued Dude 44 Bravo. With the cover of overwhelming air power—including tactical unmanned drones, attack aircraft, and more—at midnight Eastern Time on Sunday, more than 50 hours after the operation began, the Joint Personnel Recovery Center announced that Dude 44 Bravo (front-seat and rear-seat crew members) had returned to friendly territory.

$1 Below are Monday updates ====

F-15E pilots’ dramatic rescue details revealed: distress message “God is good” was even questioned; CIA “deception plan”; enemy country set up temporary base

The search-and-rescue operation for the two pilots of the U.S. military’s F-15E “Strike Eagle” has been dubbed an Easter miracle. But within the U.S. military’s operational system, getting rescued was not “good luck”—it was a tightly planned and extremely expensive standardized engineering process. This system is called Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR).

When a U.S. pilot is shot down behind enemy lines, the entire U.S. military apparatus activates immediately. The rescue process usually consists of the following core steps:

1. The moment of the crash: automated alerts and survival

• Ejection and locating: When the pilot ejects, the beacon on the seat automatically activates, sending encrypted location coordinates and identification codes to satellites and warning aircraft.
• Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE): This is mandatory training for pilots. After landing, their first priority is to hide. They will use the terrain observed during descent under parachute to quickly move away from the crash site (the enemy will search there immediately), find water sources, and dig for shelter.

2. Contact and identity verification

• Encrypted communications: Pilots carry survival radios with frequency-hopping capability (such as AN/PRC-112 or higher models), to establish contact with the command aircraft in the air or with fellow service members.
• Identity authentication: To prevent the enemy from conducting a trap, the rescue center will ask pilots extremely personal questions (for example, the name of your high school physical education teacher, the make/model of your first car). These answers are recorded in advance in the pilot’s confidential file. If they get even one word wrong, the rescue operation will not be initiated.

3. Assemble the “rescue task force” (CSARTF)

The U.S. military does not just send a single aircraft. A typical rescue operation usually includes:

• HH-60W “Jolly Green” helicopters: The core rescue platform, responsible for extracting the pilot.
• HC-130J transport aircraft: Responsible for refueling the helicopters in the air to extend their range and also serving as the on-scene commander.
• A-10 attack aircraft or F-15E: Responsible for “suppressing enemy air defenses” (SEAD), launching a carpet-style strike on any threat targets in the surrounding area when the helicopters are landing.
• Electronic warfare aircraft: To conduct jamming and blind the enemy’s radar.

4. Key combat personnel: pararescue teams (Pararescuemen, PJs)

This group is an extremely special unit within U.S. special operations forces, nicknamed “PJs.”

• They are advanced medics with combat capability.
• They enter the scene via helicopter rappel or parachuting. Their first task is to check whether the pilot has injuries and drag him onto the helicopter.
• If landing is not possible on site, they will use cable hooks to pull the pilot onto the aircraft.

Building a temporary base inside Iran

There were two crew members aboard the F-15 fighter that was shot down for the United States last Friday. Both ejected and escaped from the aircraft. One of them had already been rescued by U.S. forces earlier. Trump said the rescue speed for this pilot was much faster, carried out in daylight while enduring Iran’s intense artillery fire. Trump only confirmed the safety of the other one on Sunday morning. Iranian officials said the fighter jet was shot down by their air-defense system.

In Washington, Trump spent last Friday at the White House, moving back and forth between the Oval Office and its adjacent restaurant, because the operation to search for the downed Air Force personnel in Iran was preparing to be carried out and to receive the latest updates on the mission to locate the officer.

Regarding the rescue of the second pilot, Trump called it a “bold” U.S. rescue operation, successfully rescuing an “seriously injured” Air Force officer, seen as an example of U.S. success. Trump immediately posted a statement announcing, “We found him!” and described in detail the “amazing display of courage and talent,” turning potential U.S. setbacks into a show of strength.

Another U.S. Department of Defense official described the first action on Friday as a daring and swift “snatch” in daylight, while the second action was carried out at night after establishing a temporary base inside Iran. “The two crew members were several miles apart, and there were hundreds of IRGC soldiers all over the place.”

Trump said the pilot was in a harsh mountain area in Iran, being chased by the enemy. The enemy was closing in hour by hour, but he was never truly isolated and without support, because the Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary of War, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow service members were monitoring his location 24 hours a day and actively planning his rescue.

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200 special operations troops took part in the operation

When Trump spoke to foreign media, he said about 200 special operations troops took part in the operation. The Iranian military was “just lucky (They got lucky)”; they used shoulder-fired missiles to shoot down the F-15.

As details of the rescue continued to emerge, including how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shifted the enemy’s attention through a “deception campaign.”

Based on reporting from foreign media, the crew member spent more than 24 hours alone. At one point, he climbed over rugged terrain to reach a mountain ridge at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Besides a handgun, communications equipment, and a tracking beacon, he had almost nothing else. The crew members of the downed aircraft had been highly trained for these kinds of situations. Their top priority was to survive and avoid capture. Their training was—assuming their physical condition allowed and they weren’t injured to the point that they couldn’t move—to move away from the ejection site as quickly as possible and to conceal themselves to ensure safety.

CIA “deception plan”

Through multiple channels, the CIA spread messages across Iran, saying that the U.S. military had already found the second Air Force personnel who ejected from the F-15 and was now evacuating him by sea to take him out of Iran. In reality, this was to buy time, in order to locate the trapped weapons systems officer (WSO—namely the second pilot seated behind the aircraft pilot).

According to sources, the CIA intercepted the distress signal and passed the information to the Pentagon and the White House. The White House then ordered an immediate rescue mission to begin. Sources said that initially there were concerns that this “beacon signal” was an “ambush” set by Iran.

Trump said that after the weapons systems officer ejected, he sent a short and unusual message via radio: “Power be to God.” Another version says the exact wording was “God is good.”

Trump said what he said over the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say. Trump added that people who knew the officer explained that he was a devout man, so it made sense that he would say such words.

When the CIA confirmed early Saturday that it was not a trap, it used advanced technical capabilities to pinpoint the location of the missing Air Force personnel. CIA Director John Ratcliffe relayed this message to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Kane, and ultimately reported it to Trump.

In 12 hours, the crew had landed in Iran

Sources said, “Within 8 hours, our aircraft were already in the air. Within almost 12 hours, our people had already landed in Iran. We’ve seen how they treat POWs before. We will do everything we can to make sure we find them first.”

Trump said that the U.S. military deployed dozens of aircraft into Iran and claimed that the operation was completed with no U.S. personnel casualties.

MQ-9 drones for defense

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			▲  MQ-9 Reaper

A U.S. special operations team moved into the mountains, while U.S. military aircraft dropped bombs to clear the area. The U.S. used MQ-9 Reaper drones to protect the area around where the Air Force personnel were hiding, and opened fire on any targets approaching that area and the area of U.S. military operations to prevent crowds or any Iranian military and civilians from getting close. Trump kept watching everything from the Situation Room.

A senior U.S. official said, “We used every tactical fighter and every B-1 bomber from our inventory to conduct multiple large-scale strikes in the surrounding areas to ensure his safety.”

The Air Force units carrying out the CSAR mission included the highest-trained and most professional personnel in the military. These missions are typically conducted by helicopters. They fly at low altitude over enemy territory while other military aircraft attack and patrol in the area.

Iranians hotly hunting by the thousands

Trump said that at the time, “thousands of savages were chasing him, and even civilians were looking for him. They even offered bounties for anyone who could capture him.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that nomadic tribes living in the mountainous regions of the country opened fire and shot down two Black Hawk helicopters participating in the U.S. rescue mission.

Iranian media said Iran successfully shot down (or destroyed) several U.S. military aircraft, including a C-130 military transport aircraft (some reports said the special-operations variant MC-130J “Commando II”), and at least two helicopters (identified as Black Hawks or MH-6 Little Bird helicopters).

Malfunction during evacuation: dispatch new aircraft to rescue

There were multiple setbacks during the operation, including two damaged U.S. special operations aircraft. The U.S. had to destroy them on the ground in Iran during the operation. According to CNN citing sources, at a remote airstrip in Iran, two MC-130J special-operations transport aircraft had been waiting to take the assault team members and the rescued Air Force personnel away from the country, but at some point during the operation they were damaged. The military decided to send a new aircraft and destroy the damaged aircraft instead of risking them falling into Iran’s hands.

Trump said that during the search-and-rescue for the two crew members, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) provided the U.S. military with “a little bit” of help. “They’ve been great partners. They’re great and brave people. It’s like an older brother and younger brother situation.” And one U.S. Department of Defense official said that Israel did not provide any information about the location of the weapons systems officer, but shared intelligence about the overall situation on site. Israeli officials said the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike to prevent Iranian forces from approaching the area.

Reports said Israeli intelligence helped the CIA determine the location of the missing weapons systems officer and ruled out concerns that Iran had set a “trap,” while also halting its attacks in the region to assist the mission. Another Israeli official said Israel delayed some planned strikes against Iran to avoid interfering with the search and rescue. According to two Israeli sources, Israel also provided intelligence support.

In a statement Sunday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote: “All Israelis are happy for America’s fearless warriors, as they miraculously rescued the brave American pilot. ”