A multinational search and rescue operation is under way after a US F-15E fighter jet was lost over southern Iran. One of the two crew members was rescued by US forces; the second remains missing as searches continue amid competing US and Iranian accounts of what happened.
Iranian state media and military officials say their air defenses shot down the F-15E. Tehran says it is combing the area where the aircraft went down and has offered a reward for information leading to the missing crew member. US officials have confirmed the loss of the aircraft but released only limited public detail; an anonymous US official said it remained unclear whether the jet crashed or was brought down by enemy fire.
The F-15E incident occurred within hours of a separate episode in which a US A-10 attack plane went down near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also claimed its air defenses had downed the A-10; that aircraft’s lone pilot ejected and was rescued. These events mark 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 Iranian security forces say they are carrying out searches as well. With both sides offering differing narratives and few independently verified facts, there is growing concern for the safety of the missing crew member and the increased risk of escalation.
The aircraft losses came amid a wider round of strikes attributed to US and Israeli operations 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. Shalamcheh has been temporarily closed after strikes that Iranian reports say killed an Iraqi truck driver and injured at least five people; trade and passenger movement were suspended. Iranian reports also said several companies’ facilities in the Mahshahr zone were hit, although the full extent of damage is unclear.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran informed it that a projectile had struck close to the Bushehr nuclear facility. Iranian state media reported a security guard was 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 creating the risk of a nuclear accident.
Regional spillover has already been evident. Bahrain reported four people lightly injured by shrapnel after its air defenses intercepted Iranian drones. Shrapnel from intercepted munitions damaged a building owned by Oracle in Dubai, and a day earlier a strike on a UAE gas terminal in Abu Dhabi killed one person and injured four. Israel said it was striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut; explosions were reported in southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital as part of operations targeting the Iran-backed group.
The fighting has disrupted shipping and global energy supplies. Iran’s actions have effectively closed or constrained traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint that typically carries about a fifth of world oil trade. The United Nations Security Council delayed a vote on a draft resolution, proposed by Bahrain, that would have authorized 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. A Japan-owned LPG tanker bound for India did cross the strait, one of only a handful of vessels to do so since the wider conflict 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, adding to economic pressures across the region.
Experts and humanitarian groups are warning about long-term environmental and health consequences. Strikes on oil and petrochemical facilities can release toxic emissions that contaminate air, soil and water for years, posing risks to drinking supplies and to desalination plants that several Gulf states rely on. The UN and environmental organizations 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 a second remains missing; the A-10 pilot was rescued; Iran says its air defenses downed both planes; US searches and operations are ongoing; and regional strikes and counterstrikes have caused civilian casualties, infrastructure damage and broader disruptions to trade, energy and the environment.
Search efforts for the missing F-15E crew member continue amid a fluid and highly charged environment, with competing claims from Washington and Tehran, ongoing military activity across multiple fronts, and growing international concern about escalation, civilian harm and environmental damage.