US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle on July 16, 2020.
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The United States was searching for the crew of a U.S. fighter jet shot down in Iran on Friday, a U.S. official told MS NOW.
MS NOW said it was not clear whether the plane was shot down or crashed for another reason. MS NOW said the jet was an F-15 with two crew members on board, and their whereabouts are unknown.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command did not immediately comment. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the crash of the U.S. military plane and the search for the crew, a White House official said.
The New York Times, citing U.S. and Israeli officials and Iranian state media, said Iran shot down the fighter jet, but MS NOW said it had not independently verified the report.
It is believed to be the first known loss of a U.S. military aircraft in Iran since the war there began in late February.
The downing of the airliner came at a delicate time, with the United States showing little sign of slowing its attacks on Iran, and reports of possible peace talks offering no relief. The death toll from the conflict is approaching 5,100 across the Middle East, according to MS NOW.
The war, which has been going on for more than a month now, has choked tanker traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz and threatened supplies of crude oil, fertilizer and other key goods.
In a social media post on Friday, President Trump claimed that given time, the United States could “easily” open the strait and that it would “get the oil and make the riches.”
President Trump also threatened late Thursday to escalate attacks on Iranian infrastructure. He said the US “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left of Iran,” citing bridges and power plants as examples.
President Trump said in remarks Wednesday that the United States would take Iran “back to the Stone Age” and attack it.
