U.S. President Donald Trump stated shortly after midnight on Sunday that the American military had recovered a “highly respected colonel” from behind enemy lines in Iran.
“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 for one of our incredible crew member officers, who also happens to be a highly respected colonel,” the president wrote.
Trump said he was “thrilled” to announce that the colonel was “now safe and sound” and that the “brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour.”
However, the colonel was “never truly alone because his commander-in-chief, secretary of war, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and fellow war fighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day and diligently planning for his rescue,” Trump continued.
The president said that he directed “dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the world, to retrieve him.”
“He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine,” said the president. “This miraculous search-and-rescue operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave pilot yesterday, which we did not confirm, because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation.”
“This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory,” said Trump. “We will never leave an American war fighter behind.”
“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a single American killed or even wounded, just proves once again that we have achieved overwhelming air dominance and superiority over the Iranian skies,” the president wrote. “This is a moment that all Americans—Republican, Democrat and everyone else—should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal military in the history of the world.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) stated that the “safe rescue” of the F-15 weapon systems officer was a “profound relief to every American.”
“God bless this brave service member, who evaded capture in the most challenging circumstances, and God bless the special operations forces who put their lives on the line for this dangerous rescue mission,” she said. “It is a deeply ingrained patriotic value that Americans will go to the ends of the earth, and beyond, and do whatever it takes, including risking it all to bring their fellow Americans home.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also praised the operation, thanking “our American partners for the safe rescue of U.S. aircrew members,” and calling it “further evidence of the close cooperation between Israel and the United States, even in the most complex times.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar likewise praised the mission, commending Trump and the U.S. military for “successfully executing the daring search and rescue operation for the American F-15 pilot and crew member officer in Iran,” and stating that Israeli and American aircrews “are crippling the Iranian terror regime and making the world a safer place.”
According to Reuters, Israel provided intelligence support to Washington during the rescue mission and paused its strikes in the area to facilitate the operation.
