Iranian forces launch search for crew of downed US fighter jet

News outlets in Iran share photos of wreckage and what appears to be an ejection seat with an attached parachute.

Iranian forces have launched a search operation for the crew of a United States fighter jet which was downed by an air defence system, Iranian media reported.

Iranian military forces were conducting a search to find the crew of the aircraft that was hit over southwestern Iran, the Fars news agency said on Friday, in the first such report in the US-Israeli war with Iran that began on February 28.

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State media outlets in Iran showed photos of the wreckage of the jet and what appears to be an ejection seat with an attached parachute.

The Reuters news agency cited two US officials saying that a fighter jet was shot down over Iran and that a search and rescue operation was under way for survivors.

After the jet was downed, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf mocked US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of victory in the war.

“After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'” Ghalibaf wrote in a social media post.

According to Iranian reports, the aircraft was an F-15 jet and likely manned by two pilots.

There was no immediate comment on the incident from the Pentagon and US Central Command (CENTCOM).

In past Iranian claims of downing US jets, CENTCOM has been quick to deny the reports.

Local Iranian television aired footage of what was described as the wreckage of the downed US jet.

Iranian ⁠officials called on civilians to ⁠be on the lookout for survivors.

The governor of Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province said ‌whoever captured the crew “would be specially commended,” according to the ‌semi-official ‌Iranian news agency ISNA.

Later on Friday, several US politicians acknowledged reports of the downed jet and expressed support for the US military.

“I’m praying for the safe return of the crew aboard the fighter jet and all of those working to rescue them in these dangerous conditions,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X.

Since the start of the war on February 28, the US has lost three F-15 fighter jets in what it said was a friendly fire incident over Kuwait. A US military refuelling aircraft also fell over Iraq last month, killing all six crew members.

Iran has claimed downing dozens of US drones over the country.

Trump and his top aides have claimed multiple time that the US destroyed all of Iran’s air defences.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said Iranian officials have offered a bounty and called for locals to join in the search for the pilots.

“The Iranians over the past days, since the March 19, been saying that they’ve introduced a new system that they developed after the 12 day war,” Hashem said.