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Iran has unveiled further images of the wreckage from an American aircraft recently downed by its air defenses, intensifying the urgent search for one of the two pilots involved in the incident.
The incident involved an F-15E Strike Eagle, which was shot down amid a day marked by escalating conflict on Friday. Iranian state media subsequently released footage purportedly showing a US A-10 Warthog being destroyed in the sky just hours following the first downing.
These twin events forced both pilots to eject over hostile territory. While a bold rescue operation by US forces successfully recovered the A-10 pilot, the whereabouts of the F-15E pilot remains unknown. This marks the first occasion that US aircraft have been brought down in this conflict.
On Saturday, the official X account for the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, released harrowing new images of the destroyed F-15E jet, accompanied by a taunting caption.
The Iranian embassy issued a statement, saying, “The stealth fighter that now has no escape but to lie under the feet of aerospace warriors.”
The statement further boasted, “That same stealth giant, for which they wove legends for years, is today a pile of scrap metal fallen to the ground – this is the very technology they claimed was invisible and untouchable. But now it has been seen and brought down.”
Each of the three photos showed what was left of the jet: an unrecognizable mass of burnt debris strewn across a wide, empty stretch of land.
In another photo, four men were seen at the crash site stepping on what appeared to be a large blown-out part of the aircraft within the rubble.
Iran released new images showing the wreckage of a US F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by Tehran’s air defenses on Friday
Four men are seen at the crash site stepping on what appears to be a large blown-out part of the jet within the rubble
The new images come as the US races to find the aircraft’s missing pilot
One of the F-15E’s two pilots was rescued shortly after the crash but the second is still unaccounted for. Neither have been identified.
The United States remains engaged in a time-sensitive search for the missing jet pilot, as Iranian nomads assist in the effort and state media broadcasts images of local militias taking part.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show members of Iran’s Bakhtiari tribes in Khuzestan heading into the mountains, rifles in hand, to search for the American soldier.
Iranians have been offered a $60,000 bounty for the pilot’s ‘head,’ while President Donald Trump declined to comment on how he would respond if the airman were harmed.
Broadcasters urged locals near the crash site to seize the American, telling viewers, ‘If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police you will receive a precious prize.’
News channels also flashed messages on screen of ‘shoot them if you see them’ and showed footage of villagers scouring a rocky hillside.
In a gloating online statement, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf taunted the US and Trump over his repeated claims of winning the war.
‘After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from “regime change” to “Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?”’ Ghalibaf wrote.
The F‑15E, with a top speed of 1,650mph, was conducting a routine sortie over Tehran on Friday when it was struck by hostile fire and came down roughly 100 miles from the border with Iraq, near where the US‑UK Basra airbase is situated.
Wreckage from the downed US fighter posted by Iran. In a major propaganda boost for Iran, images of debris from the downed jet were flashed around the world
Pictured: The ejected seat from the US aircraft as published in Iranian media
The attacks came two days after Trump declared that the US has ‘beaten and completely decimated Iran’
Its two-person crew consisted of a lead pilot seated to the front and an electronic warfare officer seated behind.
Within hours, images of the wreckage surfaced online, showing a blackened crater where the jet went down. The missing pilot may not have survived the crash, as only a single ACES II ejection seat was visible at the scene.
The F-15E is a non-stealth aircraft, making it easier to shoot down than an F-35 fifth-generation-fighter.
Trump was being closely briefed on the Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) mission for the jet, which, if unsuccessful, could carry severe political consequences.
The twin attacks came just two days after Trump declared during a national address that the US has ‘beaten and completely decimated Iran’ and was ‘going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it fast.’
Unconfirmed US intelligence reports have also challenged the president’s suggestion that Iran’s attack capabilities have been decimated, with claims that its military still has half of its missile launchers and thousands of drones.
Other assessments, denied by the White House, have insisted Iran has thousands of missiles stored at underground sites.
Previously, three US fighter jets were mistakenly shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses during coalition operations, and Iranian missile and drone strikes later destroyed an American E‑3 AWACS surveillance aircraft on the ground in Saudi Arabia.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf taunted Trump over his repeated claims of winning the war
The F‑15E, top speed of 1,650mph, was conducting a routine sortie over Tehran when it came down roughly 100 miles from the border with Iraq (pictured: similar F-15 fighter jet)
The conflict was launched just over six weeks ago (pictured: woman walks in debris after US-Israeli airstrike on the Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran)
On Friday, White House officials were ‘war-gaming’ the prospect of a US pilot being held hostage by the Iranians.
The scenario would be likely to turn more Americans against the war which President Trump launched alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just over six weeks ago.
The conflict is destabilizing economies around the world, as Iran has responded to US and Israeli attacks by targeting energy infrastructure in the Gulf and tightening its grip on oil and natural gas shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for roughly one‑fifth of global energy trade.