One crew member was rescued Friday after an American aircraft was shot down in Iran, according to one U.S. and one Israeli official, who both spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive ongoing military operations.
The rescue occurred as the U.S. military was conducting a search and rescue operation, according to three people familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitivity of the situation. Israel is helping the United States with the operation.
Iranian state media has claimed in a post on X that Iran’s military shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle.
According to an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. military said that it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East. The email did not provide more details.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a previous statement that President Donald Trump had been briefed but did not offer any additional information.
The number of crew on board wasn’t immediately known.
The war now entering its sixth week is destabilizing economies around the world as Iran responds to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by targeting the Gulf region's energy infrastructure and tightening its grip on oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran "very hard" in the next two or three weeks.
Here is the latest:
Iranian official derides the US after downing US aircraft
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf mocked the U.S. after his country shot down a U.S. aircraft over southwestern Iran and at least one crew member ejected.
“This brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from “regime change” to “Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?,” Qalibaf wrote on his X account.
Iranian state media has claimed in a post on X that Iran’s military shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle.
Qalibaf, doubling down on his mockery, wrote, “What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses.”
WHO chief calls for urgent support for health systems in war-affected countries
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated on Friday his agency’s appeal for $ 30.3 billion in immediate funding to support strained health services in Iran and another four Arab countries including Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Syria.
“This appeal will support essential health services and trauma care, disease surveillance and early warning systems, mass casualty management and national readiness for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear emergencies,” he said on the social platform X.
The WHO first launched the appeal on Thursday, explaining that this amount will cover the period from March to August 2026.
Archbishop leading US military’s Catholic chaplains questions whether Iran war is just
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, tells CBS News that a case can be made that the Iran war is unjustified.
Broglio was asked during an interview to be aired on Easter Sunday on “Face the Nation” if the war was justified.
“Under the just war theory, it is not,” replied Broglio, who then evoked the specter of a threat of nuclear arms.”
“It’s compensating for a threat before threat is actually realized,” he said. “I would line myself up with Pope Leo, who has been urging for negotiation.”
“The Lord Jesus certainly brought a message of peace and also, I think war is always a last resort,” Broglio added. “I’m not making a judgment about that, because I really don’t know. But I do think that it’s hard to cast this war, you know, as something that would be sponsored by the Lord.”
Israeli official says Israel providing intel for search effort
The official says Israel is assisting with intelligence, but not active in any on-the-ground rescue.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding operation.
—- Josef Federman
Kuwait defends against air attacks
The Kuwaiti army said on Friday that its air defenses had engaged with seven ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 26 drones over the last 24 days, according to a statement posted on its official page on X.
The statement added that interceptions were still going on causing in Kuwaiti skies, causing explosions.
Israeli tank shelling kills one in southern Syria
An Israeli tank fired on a car in the southern province of Quneitra Saturday, killing a young man, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported, without giving further details.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said witnesses said that the man was a civilian “and that the attack occurred while he was driving his car on a public road connecting villages near the border strip.” There was no immediate statement from the Israeli military.
After the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad by Islamist-led rebels in December 2024, Israeli forces seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria, which Israel initially described as a temporary move to protect its borders.
The Syrian government says Israel is violating a 1974 disengagement agreement between the two countries and has called for it to withdraw its forces.
Israel reports new missile launch from Iran
The Israeli army says air defenses are being activated and residents instructed to seek shelter in affected areas.
F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet has a 2-person crew
Iranian state media has claimed that Iran’s military shot down a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft is a variation of the Air Force fighter jet that carries a two-person crew consisting of a pilot and weapons system officer.
Alan Diehl, a former investigator for the Air Force Safety Center, said the Strike Eagle has an emergency locator beacon in a survival kit that can be set to activate automatically or manually.
The Pentagon has not immediately responded to repeated requests for comment
Israel suspends airstrikes as search for downed US pilot proceeds
An Israeli official says airstrikes have been halted in areas “relevant” to the rescue effort.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the operation is ongoing.
—- Josef Federman
Tehran resident describes projectile overhead and smoke near medical research center
A resident of central Tehran says she was walking home Thursday when she spotted what appeared to be a missile streaking overhead.
“I saw it go over my head and I heard the explosion,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to media restrictions in Iran.
Then she saw smoke rising from a nearby area of the capital hosting many government buildings, including the offices of Iran’s Supreme Leader, which Israel heavily struck early in the war. Next to that is the Pasteur Institute, which has played a leading role in Iran’s health sector for over a century. An Iranian health ministry spokesman confirmed the institute had been struck on Thursday.
The resident said she’s also seen least two police stations “destroyed” in her area of the capital.
—- Amir-Hussein Radjy
An explosion in southern Lebanon injures three UN peacekeepers amid fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
The peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL reminded Israel, Hezbollah and other actors of their obligation to ensure the peacekeepers’ safety, including by avoiding combat near their facilities and positions.
“This has been a difficult week for peacekeepers working near the central part of UNIFIL’s area of operations,” UNIFIL said.
Three U.N. peacekeepers were injured, two seriously, in an explosion of unknown origin inside their position in El Adeisse on Friday afternoon, UNIFIL said. Three UNIFIL peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed earlier this week and others were injured.
Aircraft was ‘shot down,’ US military says
According to an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, the U.S. military said that it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East. The email did not provide more details.
Iran accuses the UN nuclear watchdog of siding with its enemies
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran denounced on Friday what it describes as the U.N. nuclear agency’s “silence” as the US and Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The Iranian agency accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of “not merely inaction but complicity with perpetrators,” according to a statement posted on X. It said it has sent a protest letter to the IAEA’s director. “This historic negligence erodes the IAEA’s little remaining credibility,” read the statement.
The Iranian government has constantly said that it needs to expand its nuclear plants to meet its electricity needs rather than to build weapons.
Jordan and Israel warn of more air attacks
The Israeli military says air defenses are being activated to intercept the fire.
Jordan, the state-owned news agency says alarms are sounding across the country.
One crew member has been rescued after American aircraft went down in Iran, US and Israeli officials say
One crew member has been rescued after an American aircraft went down in Iran, according to one U.S. and one Israeli official, who both spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive ongoing military operations.
US officials are being informed about the rescue operation in Iran
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been notified about the situation with the pilot in Iran, his office said.
The Defense Department has notified the speaker and said it would provide further updates.
The U.S. military has been conducting a search and rescue operation in Iran, according to three people familiar who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitivity of the situation.
Gas tanker affiliated with Japan makes it through the strait
A liquefied natural gas tanker co-owned by Japanese and Omani companies has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a first passage of a Japan-affiliated vessel through the waterway since the start of the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, Japan’s NHK public television said.
The Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said the Panamanian-flagged tanker Sohar LNG, also owned by Oman Shipping Company, crossed the strait Friday and is now out of the Persian Gulf, NHK reported.
The tanker was among 45 Japanese-affiliated ships stuck in the area since the start of the war in the region. Mitsui did not disclose other details, such as the ship’s destination, citing security reasons, NHK said.
Four US planes had already gone down during the Iranian war
Four U.S. military planes had gone down during the Iran war before Friday’s search and rescue operation — three fighter jets hit by friendly fire over Kuwait and a refueling tanker plane that crashed in Iraq following an incident with another U.S. aircraft.
The KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq while supporting operations in Iran. All six crew members aboard the aircraft died. U.S. officials attributed the crash to an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” and said the other plane landed safely.
Separately, three U.S. F-15E fighter jets were mistakenly targeted by friendly Kuwaiti fire. All six crew members ejected safely.
US has launched a rescue operation after Iranian state media says American fighter jet went down in Iran, AP source says
The U.S. military rescue operation launched Friday after Iranian state media said an American fighter jet went down over southwest Iran and at least one crew member ejected.
Israel is helping the United States with the search and rescue operation, according to an Israeli military officer briefed on the information who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a U.S. announcement.
Social media footage showed American drones, aircraft and helicopters flying over the mountainous region where the Iranian channel said at least one pilot bailed out of the fighter jet.
It would be the first time the U.S. has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the five-week war. It was not clear if the jet was shot down or crashed. The number of crew on board was not immediately known.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command didn’t immediately respond to several messages seeking comment. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “President Trump has been briefed.”
Bahrain cracks down on dissent as Iran war reignites internal unrest
A man detained in Bahrain as the island came under missile attack from Iran vanished for days, until his family was called to a military hospital to retrieve his body, covered in slash marks and bruises. The death of Mohamed al-Mousawi has become a flashpoint in the Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority country on the war's front lines, where critics say authorities have revived tactics used to suppress Arab Spring protests in 2011.
Bahrain, a monarchy that hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, has arrested dozens of people for filming airstrikes and demonstrations or expressing support for Iran.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said al-Mousawi was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran — allegations denied by his family — and that images of his wounds were “inaccurate and misleading.” A Bahrain government statement said the country is defending its national security and denied any sectarianism, saying authorities have acted lawfully and that independent bodies investigate allegations of abuse.
Iranian motorcyclist describes a tale of two cities in wartime Tehran
A woman in her forties says she has made a point of riding a motorcycle around Tehran as “a form of civil resistance.” Cruising the capital’s streets has also shown her two faces of the wartime capital, she said.
Faced with years of protests, Iran’s Islamic rulers have recently eased enforcement of the mandatory veil and other restrictions on women, including harassing female motorcyclists.
A downtown resident, the woman said she rode uptown to the capital’s richest areas, where she found the cafes were packed.
“Now I’m outside on my motorbike. I stopped by the side of the street. There was an explosion. Several people sitting on chairs by the café, looked up, glanced at the sky and started drinking coffee again,” she messaged The Associated Press, communicating anonymously for her safety.
In other parts of Tehran, she said, “the streets where a building has been damaged and destroyed, or the houses around it, are different. It’s like Gaza. Silence. The smell of death.”
— By Amir-Hussein Radjy
Iranian authorities urge expanded search for ejected pilot
Authorities also urged Iranians to search for the American pilot in neighboring Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, in addition to Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.
Tehran resident says the fate of Iranians hangs between two powers that don’t care for the people
The 26-year-old Tehran resident fears an escalation in the war that targets infrastructure could leave civilians without power or water, but said the survival of the Islamic Republic’s theocratic rulers leaves her “more anxious than the bombing.” She spoke on condition of anonymity and through secure channels for security reasons.
“Based on what Trump has been saying, once again I realized that we, the people of Iran are nothing but tools and playthings between these two ideologies and powers of the world,” she said. “Neither our lives nor our well-being matters to anyone. Not to our rulers, who killed (thousands during the January protests) nor to the First World, which has always pursued its own interests.”
The young Pilates instructor has stopped her teaching, she said, because “My body doesn’t want to.” She said the mood in Tehran “is dark” as parts of the city feel empty during the new year holidays, which end Friday. “It is full of checkpoints and there is very little traffic.”
— By Sarah El Deeb
Israeli strikes kill 1,368 since Israel-Hezbollah war began
Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes killed 23 people and wounded 98, the Lebanese health ministry said Friday.
The ministry said that the overall death toll includes 125 children and 91 women, since Israel launched intense airstrikes across Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group fired rockets toward northern Israel in solidarity with Iran on March 2. The strikes have also wounded 4,138 others.
Among those killed are 53 health workers, while Israeli strikes have targeted 83 emergency medical service facilities, the health ministry said.
Trump’s wartime presidency has Republicans in peril in upcoming elections
A year and a half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict that many in his own party do not like. And he offered little clarity to a nation eager for answers this week during his prime-time address.
It’s hard to overstate how dramatically the U.S. political landscape has shifted. At this time last year, many Republican leaders believed there was a path to preserve their narrow House majority and easily hold the Senate. Now they privately concede that the House is all but lost and Democrats have a realistic shot at taking the Senate.
“You’re looking at an ugly November,” warned veteran Republican pollster Neil Newhouse. “At a point in time when we need every break possible to hold the House and Senate, our edge is being chipped away.”
United Arab Emirates defends against air attacks
The UAE ministry of defense said on Friday that its air forces engaged with 18 ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 47 drones, according to a statement posted on the social media platform X.
Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs
The increase in spending is the largest such request in decades as the president emphasizes U.S. military investments over domestic programs.
Trump’s plans for the Pentagon were confirmed in a White House outline of Trump’s 2027 budget proposal released Friday. The White House summary says Trump’s proposal would reduce nondefense spending by 10% by shifting some responsibilities to state and local governments.
Even before the U.S.-led war against Iran, the Republican president had indicated he wanted to bolster defense spending to modernize the military for 21st-century threats. Separately, the Pentagon last month proposed $200 billion for the war effort and to backfill munitions and supplies.
Iran keeps attacking with missiles and drones
Israel’s military said Friday afternoon that missiles had been launched from Iran toward the country.
Bahrain’s state-owned news agency said Friday that the country’s air forces intercepted and destroyed 16 drones in the last 24 hours.
Explosion wounds three UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon
The explosion Friday inside a UN position near the southern town of El Adeisseh injured three peacekeepers, two of them seriously, according to a spokesperson for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.
“All are currently being evacuated to hospital,” Kandice Ardiel said, adding that the origin of the blast remains unknown.
Two other peacekeepers were killed Monday when their vehicle was struck by an explosion of unknown origin, a day after another peacekeeper was killed in a separate incident in southern Lebanon, where intense fighting between Hezbollah and Israel is ongoing.
The UN has said the deaths are under investigation, while Israel has denied any involvement.
In another reversal, Trump expresses interest in the U.S. keeping Strait of Hormuz open
The president said in a post on social media Friday morning that “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A “GUSHER” FOR THE WORLD???”
Trump’s comments seem to fly in the face of his remarks over the past week, including days ago when he said that ensuring safe shipping through the vital waterway was ’not for us” and instead lashed out at other nations, including America’s allies, for not stepping in to police the strait from Iranian attacks on vessels.
The president’s Friday comment seemed to reflect remarks he made in private this week in which he expressed a desire to continue the war and try to seize Iranian oil, but said it “is unfortunate” that there did not seem to be patience among the American people for such an effort.
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This story has been corrected to replace a headline to show that Trump budget is seeking $1.5 trillion in defense spending.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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