Iran-US war latest: Trump confirms rescue of second American pilot from downed fighter jet in Iran

Several “flying objects” were destroyed during the US mission to find a stranded airman in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday according to Tasnim news agency.

“During a joint operation (Aerospace, Ground Force, Popular Units, Basij and Police command), enemy flying objects were destroyed,” the group said after Iran’s police command claimed an American C-130 support aircraft had been downed in the south of Isfahan.

Iran also claims to have downed two Blackhawk helicopters.

Earlier on Sunday, Iran’s army also said they had downed an Israeli drone in the same province.

A tank caught fire at one of Bapco Energies’ storage facilities in Bahrain this morning following an Iranian attack, the company said, with no injuries reported.

The fire has been extinguished, and damage is being assessed, Bapco said in a statement.

Iran has executed two men convicted of attempting to storm a military facility and access an armoury during anti-government unrest in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news outlet reported today.

The men, identified as Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast, were among a group of four in the same case who faced execution, according to Amnesty International. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld their sentences, with Mizan saying they were among “rioters who sought to commit mass murder” by attempting to steal weapons and military equipment.

Last week, Iran executed 18-year-old Amirhossein Hatami, convicted in the same case stemming from nationwide anti-government protests which the Islamic Republic suppressed in what rights groups have called the biggest crackdown in its history.

Amnesty said in a recent report that 11 men faced imminent execution for participation in the protests, and that those convicted had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment in detention before being tried in “grossly unfair trials that relied on forced confessions.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was “proud of our troops, proud of our President, proud to be an American,” after Donald Trump confirmed both crew members of an F-15 jet downed over Iran had been rescued in what he called the most daring search and rescue operations in US military memory.

A missing U.S. service member who was shot down in Iran has been rescued, Donald Trump has announced.

“WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History,” the president posted on Truth Social late Saturday night.

Donald Trump confirmed that both crew members of an F-15 jet downed over Iran had been rescued, saying the back-to-back operations were the first time in military memory that two US pilots had been retrieved separately from inside enemy territory.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the second airman, a colonel, had been recovered from “the treacherous mountains of Iran” after being hunted by Iranian forces. He said the officer sustained injuries but would recover. Trump added that the first rescue, carried out the previous day, had been deliberately withheld from public confirmation to avoid compromising the second mission.

“This is the first time in military memory that two US pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory,” Trump wrote. He said both operations had been completed without a single American killed or wounded, calling it proof of “overwhelming air dominance and superiority over the Iranian skies.”

The United States has rescued the second crew member of an F-15 jet brought down over Iran, two US officials have told Reuters.

The officials did not provide further details on the rescue, according to the news agency. The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed the rescue.

Iran said on Friday its air defences had shot down the aircraft. Reports indicated that the first of the two-person crew had already been recovered. The fate of the second airman had not been confirmed until Saturday.

Planet Labs, one of the world’s largest commercial satellite imaging companies, will indefinitely withhold images of Iran and the broader Middle East conflict zone after the US government asked all satellite imagery providers to restrict access to visuals of the region.

The California-based firm, which operates a large fleet of Earth-imaging satellites and sells frequently updated images to governments, companies and media organisations, announced the decision in an email to customers on Saturday. It said it would withhold imagery dating back to 9 March and expected the policy to remain in effect until the conflict ends. The restriction expands on a 14-day delay on Middle East imagery the company had imposed last month, which it said was intended to prevent adversaries from using the images to attack the US and its allies.

Under the new system, Planet Labs said it would switch to a managed distribution model, releasing imagery on a case-by-case basis for urgent, mission-critical requirements or where there was a clear public interest. “These are extraordinary circumstances, and we are doing all we can to balance the needs of all our stakeholders,” the firm said in its customer email.

The move cuts off a significant source of independent visual intelligence about the conflict. Satellite imagery is used by journalists and researchers to document activity in hard-to-reach areas, as well as by military operators for target identification, weapons guidance, missile tracking and communications. Some space specialists have said Iran could be accessing commercial imagery through US adversaries.

Another major provider, Vantor, formerly Maxar Technologies, told Reuters it had not been contacted by the US government but had independently applied enhanced access controls for parts of the Middle East. Those controls can include limits on who can request new images or purchase existing pictures of regions where the US military and its allies are actively operating or being targeted.

Iranian drones struck Kuwait’s oil ministry headquarters, two power and water desalination plants and a government ministry complex in coordinated attacks early this morning, causing significant material damage but no casualties, Kuwaiti state media reported.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a fire broke out at its Shuwaikh complex, which houses both the oil ministry and KPC headquarters, after a drone strike.

A separate attack on an office complex for government ministries caused significant material damage, the finance ministry said.

Two power generation units were taken out of service after drones targeted the power and water desalination plants, the electricity and water ministry said.

No injuries were reported in any of the incidents. Iran has not commented on the strikes.

The attacks mark a widening of Tehran’s campaign against Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations, now in its sixth week. Kuwait, which hosts several US bases, has been among the Gulf states repeatedly targeted since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli strikes last month.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, an Iranian NGO, has released its latest tallies on the number of civilian deaths from the ongoing conflict.

The group recorded at least 272 attacks in 14 provinces on Saturday, with at least 184 people injured or killed.

Saturday’s attacks bring civilian deaths to at least 1,616, based on the group’s tally.

In addition, there have been 1,213 military fatalities, and 711 fatalities that are unclassified.