The movie about this operation is going to be intense. We received more updates about the incredible rescue of the second crew member from an F-15 jet that was shot down over Iran on Good Friday. The pilot was recovered, but the weapons systems officer was missing. It took a day to find him, but US special forces managed to locate and extract the injured crew member on Easter. The CIA had to run a misinformation campaign to distract the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. We also killed some of them as they got too close to the aviator.
Did Israeli special forces assist in this effort? Confirmation was limited, but the Jerusalem Post obtained an IDF source who said the reports were false. Still, it would have been pretty cool if Sayeret Matkal had assisted. This operation is being called one of the most daring and complex in the history of US special forces operations (via JPost):
Iran International reports that an Israeli official revealed to them that two Israeli commando units, Shaldag and Sayeret Matkal, were involved in the mission to recover the American F-15E Weapons Systems Officer (WSO). pic.twitter.com/0Qb6ULAdR3
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 5, 2026
The US special forces team was deployed on the ground in Iran on both Friday and Saturday as part of the search and rescue effort. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dispatched teams in an attempt to locate the missing airman. To thwart these efforts, US Air Force jets carried out strikes against Iranian forces to prevent them from reaching the area, according to sources cited by Axios.
Two officials familiar with the operation told the New York Times that as US forces converged on the downed airman, a firefight erupted with Iranian forces.
An IDF source confirmed to the Post that Israeli forces provided intelligence and reportedly conducted strikes in support of the US operation.
Foreign reports have claimed that IDF special forces, including the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) and Shaldag, participated in the operation. However, an IDF source stated to the Post that these reports are "completely false."
Trump revealed that the airman was injured in the crash and received treatment while waiting for rescue. Some highly classified intelligence assets were used to recover the crew member. CIA Director John Ratcliffe provided a brief summary of what he could, along with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine.
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