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CIA deception operation rescues missing US airman in Iran
Fox News contributor Paul Mauro has shed light on a remarkable Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation that successfully rescued a U.S. airman who had been missing for more than 36 hours in Iran. Mauro detailed how the CIA employed a sophisticated deception strategy, feeding false information to Iranian forces while simultaneously pinpointing the airman’s exact location for a seamless extraction. He highlighted the indispensable role of human intelligence (HUMINT) and the coordinated efforts involved, emphasizing that, despite advancements in technology, intelligence fundamentally hinges on human expertise.
According to Mauro, U.S. intelligence agencies had laid the necessary groundwork to track down the missing colonel within Iran even before the mission commenced. Speaking on “Fox & Friends,” he elaborated that the operation was heavily dependent on intelligence that had been accumulated well in advance.
“You’ve got to collect, you collect, you collect, and often, much of it might never be used,” Mauro explained. “The key is when you need it, it has to be there.”
Mauro also referenced a previous operation involving Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, orchestrated by the Trump administration in January. He noted how U.S. forces utilized precise intelligence to anticipate the whereabouts of Maduro and his wife, enabling an effective capture attempt. This example further illustrates the critical importance of pre-gathered intelligence and strategic planning in successful operations.
Mauro pointed to the Maduro case, which unfolded at the behest of the Trump administration in January, noting U.S. forces’ ability to pinpoint where the Venezuelan dictator and his wife were going to be at the time in order to make an effective capture.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth shakes the hand of an American airman on a covert CENTCOM visit with troops in theater. (War Secretary/X)
“They got him as they were running to a safe room without a scratch. Everybody comes out without a scratch,” he said.
“They got them as they were fleeing. That’s how detailed the messaging was, and that’s how synchronized the operation was.”
Mauro said that same level of preparation and coordination was on display in the Iran mission, where U.S. forces rescued a missing U.S. weapons systems officer from a downed F-15E following a multi-day search inside enemy territory.
Artificial intelligence is a big factor in the Iran war and Iran realizes it. (iStock)
U.S. intelligence was able to act quickly to retrieve the missing colonel once his location was confirmed.
“[This] was one of those situations where the bell rang. ‘Guys, what [have] you got?’ President turns around, [War Secretary] Hegseth turns around, [and] they all talk to [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe and they say, ‘What [have] you got, director?’ and fortunately it was there.”
Mauro said the operation highlights a broader fact about intelligence work that is apparent to those working within its community: its success comes down to the people running the sources.
“At the end of the day… it comes down to people,” he said.
“If you think that you can sit in a cubicle someplace and get everything you need to be done, that’s not how it’s going to go. You need people in country, in dangerous areas, Americans working on our behalf that you’ll never hear about… they’re running the sources so that, again, when you need it, they say, ‘My source is good.’“