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This operation cost over half billion.  This is what " No one left behind, that others may live" matter. This is how much you value your citizen especially stranded in enemies zone.

Two MC-130 aircraft that had ferried some of the roughly 100 special ‌operations forces into rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off, a U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Suddenly, elite commandos risked being stuck behind enemy lines.

Their commanders made a high-risk decision, ordering additional aircraft to fly into Iran to extract the group in waves — a decision that left the elite commandos waiting for a couple of tense hours.

"If there was a 'holy shit' moment, that was it," said the official, who credited quick decision-making with saving the day. The official, along with others who spoke to Reuters for this story, was granted anonymity in order to speak candidly about the operation.

The gamble worked. The rescue force was pulled out in stages, and U.S. troops destroyed the disabled MC‑130s and four additional helicopters inside Iran rather than risk leaving sensitive equipment behind.

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Summary

US pilot is RESCUED from Iran as shocking footage shows tribesmen shooting at search plane as second remains missing

Pilot, gunner of US fighter jet eject over Iran. One rescued, hunt on for the other

US forces launched a search-and-rescue operation before Iran could reach any "survivors", reported The New York Times, citing American and Israeli officials. Sources also told American news website Axios that the aircraft had a two-person crew.

The F15-E has two crew members, including the pilot in the front seat, and a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) in the back seat.

According Israel's Channel 12, citing a Western source, one of the two American crewmembers onboard the downed F-15E Strike Eagle has been rescued and evacuated from southern Iran.

US President Trump has been briefed on the downing of an American fighter jet, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN, as searchandrescue efforts continue for the aircraft's crew, a pilot and weapons officer.

Iran's Tasnim News Agency and several open-source intelligence handles had earlier reported that at least one American pilot ejected after the jet was shot down over southern Iran.

The fighter jet was reportedly downed by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Friday.

The news agency also reported that there are indications the US forces attempted to extract them from Iranian territory in a combat-search-and-rescue operation.

However, some sources told Tasnim News Agency that at least one pilot has likely been captured by Iranian forces.

US fighter jet crashes in Iran; search launched for 2 crew members

A U.S. fighter jet crashed in southern Iran on Friday, prompting a search and recovery mission for the two-person crew, two U.S. officials said, marking the first known instance of an American aircraft going down inside hostile territory in the month-long conflict.

The fate of the crew was not immediately clear. Also unclear is whether the aircraft was brought down by enemy fire or if an accident or malfunction may have played a role.

کمال خرازی امروز در حمله‌ای یا کشته شده یا به شدت مجروح شده است. زنش اما کشته شد. pic.twitter.com/wqZ6muIoAA

— Rouzbeh Hosseini (@HosseiniRouzbeh) April 1, 2026

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European countries fume over 'extremely unfair' World Cup qualifying

European countries feel that Uefa's mere 16 places in a 48-team World Cup are not enough, amid some disquiet about the nature of having home advantage for play-offs of such immense stakes.

Some senior officials have been describing the latter as "extremely unfair", and feel neutral venues could be explored for the future. It is a situation that could also be influenced by having more teams.

With this World Cup expanding to 48 teams for the first time, Uefa was given a mere three extra places, going up from 13 to 16. It is understood that this has been a long-running issue for European associations, who do not feel that increase is fair representation.

Such arguments have nevertheless fallen on deaf ears so far. Other continents point to how Europe is still by far the best represented continent, with 16 sides, although South America has six of its 10 teams in the competition. Europe has just 16 of 55.

A moral historical point is also made about how this is essentially a correction of decades when European countries dominated representation, and that a greater distribution of places is needed to help develop the game in the rest of the world. The counterpoint to that is that if one of Fifa's aims is to increase revenue for wider good, a bigger European country is likely to be more lucrative than one of the smaller populated Concacaf teams that qualify, and that the entertainment quality of the event would be less diluted. It is also felt that the proportions should be the same as for the Club World Cup.

European countries fume over 'extremely unfair' World Cup qualifying