A multinational search and rescue effort is underway after a US F-15E fighter jet was downed over southern Iran. One of the two-man crew was rescued by US forces; the second crew member remains missing as searches continue amid competing Iranian and US accounts of the incident.
Iranian state media and military officials reported that their air defenses shot down the F-15E. Tehran has said it is combing the area where the jet came down and has offered a bounty for information leading to the missing crew member. US officials have confirmed the aircraft was lost but have provided limited public detail; a US official speaking anonymously said it was not yet clear whether the F-15E crashed or was shot down.
The downing occurred alongside a separate incident in which a US A-10 “Warthog” attack plane went down near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed its air defenses had also downed the A-10; the A-10’s lone pilot ejected and was rescued. Both incidents happened within hours of each other, marking the first time in more than two decades that US combat aircraft have been lost to enemy fire in the region.
US and allied helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have been observed searching over Zaras and surrounding areas in Khuzestan province. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other security forces have indicated they are also conducting searches. Washington and Tehran have offered differing narratives and limited verified information, raising concern over the safety of the missing crew member and the risk of escalation.
The incidents came amid a wider round of US-Israeli strikes inside Iran. Iranian authorities reported attacks on the Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone in Khuzestan and on the commercial terminal at the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq. The Shalamcheh crossing has been temporarily closed after strikes killed one Iraqi truck driver and injured at least five Iraqis and Iranians; trade and passenger movement were suspended. Iranian reports said several companies’ facilities in the Mahshahr zone were hit and that the full extent of damage was unclear.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran informed it a projectile had struck close to the Bushehr nuclear facility. Iranian state media reported a security guard had been killed but said the plant itself sustained no damage; the IAEA reported no increase in radiation levels. The agency’s director expressed “deep concern” and urged maximum military restraint to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident.
Regional spillover has been evident. Bahrain said four people were lightly injured by shrapnel after its air defenses intercepted Iranian drones; shrapnel from intercepted munitions also damaged a building owned by Oracle in Dubai and, a day earlier, killed one person and injured four at a UAE gas terminal in Abu Dhabi. Israel has said it is striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut; explosions were reported in southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital as part of strikes targeting the Iran-backed militant group.
The conflict has disrupted shipping and global energy supplies. Iran’s actions have effectively closed or constrained traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that normally carries about a fifth of world oil trade. The United Nations Security Council delayed a vote on a draft resolution, proposed by Bahrain, to authorize the use of “defensive” force to protect shipping in the strait; China and Russia opposed authorizing force, and debate continues over the legal and strategic risks of reopening Hormuz by force. Meanwhile, a Japan-owned LPG tanker bound for India has crossed the strait, one of only several India-flagged vessels to do so since the war began.
European finance ministers from Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal and Spain urged the European Commission to consider a windfall tax on energy companies to offset rising fuel costs driven by the conflict, saying profits made from war-driven price surges should help ease the burden on the public. Energy prices have surged sharply since late February, worsening economic pressures across the region.
Environmental and humanitarian concerns are mounting. Experts warn that strikes on oil and petrochemical facilities release toxic emissions that can contaminate air, soil and water for years, threatening drinking water and desalination plants that several Gulf states rely on for large portions of their water supplies. The UN and environmental groups have highlighted the long-term toxic legacy of widespread munitions use and industrial fires.
What is known so far: two US military jets were lost in separate incidents; one crew member of the F-15E was rescued while the second remains missing; the A-10 pilot was rescued; Iran claims its air defenses downed both planes; US searches and operations are ongoing; regional strikes and counterstrikes have caused civilian casualties, infrastructure damage and broader disruptions to trade, energy and the environment.
As search efforts continue for the missing crew member, the situation remains fluid with competing claims from Washington and Tehran, ongoing military activity across multiple fronts and growing international concern about escalation, civilian harm and environmental consequences.