‘We got him!’: Trump says after US F-15 crew ‘safely’ evacuated from Iran

“We got him!” Trump wrote in a celebratory post, detailing one of the most daring rescue missions ever carried out by the U.S. military. track Real-time updates on the US-Iraq War.

“Over the past few hours, the U.S. military completed one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history for one of our incredible crew members, who also happens to be a highly respected colonel, and I’m happy to tell you that he is now safe and sound!” he said.

“At my direction, the U.S. military sent dozens of planes equipped with the world’s deadliest weapons to pick him up. He was injured, but he will be fine,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

“This brave warrior was behind enemy lines in the dangerous mountains of Iran, pursued by our enemies who were getting closer and closer,” he said, adding that he was “never truly alone.”

Trump said senior officials, including the commander in chief, secretary of war and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Pete Hegers, were “monitoring the pilot’s location 24 hours a day and carefully planning his rescue.”

Two days ago, Iran claimed to have shot down two US military aircraft, one of which was confirmed to be an F-15E. The second plane was a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft, but details about the condition of the crew and the exact crash site remain unclear.

“This miraculous search and rescue operation is in addition to yesterday’s successful rescue of another brave airman, which we did not confirm because we did not want to jeopardize our second rescue operation. This is the first time in military memory that two American airmen have been rescued separately deep in enemy territory,” he said.

Trump further said: “We will never leave any American fighter behind! The fact that we were able to complete these two operations without a single American killed or even injured once again proves that we have achieved overwhelming air supremacy and superiority in the skies of Iran.”

He called on Americans to be proud, adding, “We truly have the best, most professional, most lethal military in the history of the world.”

The search involved “popular forces and tribesmen as well as the army and is still ongoing,” the local Mehr news agency quoted Fateh Mohammadi, the deputy governor of Kojiluye and Boye-Ahmed, as saying.

“Last night, people used rifles to fire at enemy helicopters to prevent them from landing,” he added.

Images circulating on social media and confirmed by AFP showed Iranian police opening fire on a U.S. helicopter reportedly conducting a search operation in southwestern Iran.