Ruptly
"Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Sunday that the Iranian military have "completely foiled" a high-stakes US rescue operation in Iran’s Isfahan province, alleging the destruction of multiple US aircraft. In stark contrast, the US reported the successful rescue mission of a missing crew member of the US F-15 fighter jet which was shot down on Friday. “The so-called rescue operation by the US Army, planned as a deception and a hasty escape under the pretext of rescuing a downed pilot at an abandoned airfield south of Isfahan, was completely foiled by the timely presence of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Zolfaghari stated. While Iran initially claimed to have hit F-35 stealth fighters, wreckage analysis suggests the downed craft was the dual-crew F-15E. According to Zolfaghari, prior intelligence allowed Iranian forces to ambush the rescue team, leading to the destruction of "two C-130 military transport aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters." He used the occasion to describe the US President as “defeated,” noting that he “is hastily and deceitfully trying to escape the defeat through psychological warfare.” “It has been proven to all that the weak and bankrupt American army is not considered the dominant and superior force in this imposed war against the divine will of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Zolfaghari continued. Despite Tehran's claims of a total failure, the White House on Sunday confirmed that the second crew member - a high-ranking colonel - was successfully rescued alive after forty-eight hours behind enemy lines. The first crew member had been recovered shortly after the crash on Friday. While the US acknowledged scuttling some of its own disabled equipment to prevent capture, it maintains that all personnel returned safely. The desperation to capture the pilots was highlighted by a massive bounty, with regional police in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad promising a "valuable reward" of up to 10 billion Tomans (approximately $60,000) for the capture of 'enemy pilots'. The rescue mission is the latest escalation in the conflict that began on 28 February, when a joint US-Israeli operation targeted Iranian nuclear sites. Early strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. The conflict has since pulled Hezbollah into a "revenge" campaign in Lebanon and led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, effectively choking 20% of the world’s oil supply."
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