US Rescue Mission To Save Airman May Be Cover To 'Steal Enriched Uranium', Iran Claims

Tehran: In an explosive allegation, Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday, that the high-risk operation carried out by the US special forces unit to bring back the downed airman after his F-15E fighter jet was downed by Iranian missiles, may have been just a cover to "steal enriched uranium" from the country.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said there were "many questions and uncertainties" about the US operation, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

Pointing out that the place where the US troops wanted to land was far away from where the airman was claimed to be present, Baqaei said, “The area where the American pilot was claimed to be present in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province is a long way from the area where they attempted to land or wanted to land their forces in central Iran.”

"The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all," Baqaei was quoted as saying as per the report. 

Baqaei said that the operation was "a disaster" for the United States. Iran's military stated that several US aircraft had to "make emergency landings" in southern Isfahan province after being hit during the mission. 

Here's What Trump Announced

US President Donald Trump announced early Sunday that US military forces have successfully rescued a seriously wounded Air Force colonel, the weapons systems officer from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle jet, from a treacherous mountain terrain deep within Iran.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel.”

Trump described the mission as “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History,” noting that the officer had been behind enemy lines and evading capture for more than a day after the jet was shot down on Friday. Trump said that the colonel “sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” and emphasized that US forces monitored his location continuously while planning the extraction.

What Iran Claimed

Iran's military said that an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan province was used in the US rescue operation.

"The so-called U.S. military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military's central command said.

Zolfaghari claimed that "two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed" in the operation.

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