One member of the U.S. military was rescued while another remains missing following two separate incidents involving U.S. military planes on Friday. These incidents marked the first time U.S. aircraft were lost in the ongoing conflict, occurring shortly after President Donald Trump declared the U.S. had effectively countered Iran.
According to officials, one fighter jet was downed in Iran, leading to the rescue of one U.S. crew member, with efforts underway to locate the missing individual. Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after encountering Iranian defense forces. The circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s fate, whether it crashed or was shot down, remain uncertain.
As the conflict enters its sixth week, global economies are experiencing destabilization due to Iran’s retaliatory actions against U.S. and Israeli assaults, targeting energy infrastructure in the Gulf region and asserting control over oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel announced that it had targeted key Iranian infrastructure, including ballistic and anti-aircraft missile storage sites in Tehran, along with weapons manufacturing and military research facilities. The strikes were described as part of an ongoing effort to inflict damage on Iran’s fundamental systems.
In Dubai, authorities reported damage to two buildings caused by intercepted drones, one of which belonged to U.S. tech company Oracle. Despite the damage, no injuries were reported. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened retaliatory actions against Oracle and 17 other U.S. companies, accusing them of involvement in espionage activities deemed as “terrorist” in Iran.
Previous drone strikes by Iran had caused damage to Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The ongoing conflict has resulted in 365 U.S. service members being wounded in action, with the Pentagon data revealing that Army soldiers, Navy sailors, Marines, and Air Force airmen are among those injured. The total number of service members killed in combat remains at 13.
In a separate development, Iran executed two members of the exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, identified as Abul-Hassan Montazer and Vahid Bani-Amirian, on charges of being part of a terrorist organization. This brings the total number of executed MEK members to six since the commencement of the war, drawing criticism from activists and rights organizations over the lack of transparency in Iran’s judicial proceedings.