US special forces enter Iran in frantic bid to rescue missing airman after Iran downs two jets – as Tehran offers $60,000 reward to find him: Live updates ‣ Diverse Daily

By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Updated: 09:08 BST, 4 April 2026

US special forces entered Iran late on Friday to rescue a missing crew member after two fighter jets were downed.

US forces are in a race against time to save a missing fighter jet pilot whose aircraft was shot down by Iranian air defences in a chaotic day of fighting – after a second American aircraft was also downed.

Iranian state media shared footage on Friday appearing to show a US A-10 Warthog plane being blown out of the sky, and reports say a second US aircraft, an F-15E Strike Eagle, was also downed hours earlier.

The joint incidents led two pilots to eject into enemy territory, and the F-15E pilot remains unaccounted for after US forces successfully saved the A-10 pilot in a daring rescue mission.

The whereabouts of the remaining US pilot was unknown on Friday, while Iranian media broadcast images of local militias engaged in a search operation.

Iranians have been offered a $60,000 bounty for his capture, while US President Donald Trump declined to comment on what he would do if the missing airman was harmed.

It is the first time US aircraft have been downed in the conflict, and came just two days after Trump said in a national address that the US has ‘beaten and completely decimated Iran’ and was ‘going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.

The war, now entering its sixth week, is destabilising economies around the world as Iran responds to the US 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.

Follow along for our live updates on the Middle East conflict.

Images show devastation across the Middle East as war enters its sixth week

A residential building that was damaged by recent strikes at Vahdat town on April 3, 2026 in Karaj, southwest of Tehran, Iran.

A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran.

This video grab taken on April 3, 2026, from undated UGC images shared on social media on April 1, 2026, shows thick plumes of smoke rising following airstrikes in Baharestan, in Iran’s central Isfahan province.

This video grab taken on April 3, 2026, from UGC images posted on social media on April 3, 2026 show a US aircraft, followed by two helicopters, flying over the town of Zaras in the southern Iran's Khuzestan province. (Photo by UGC / AFP via Getty Images) / Israel OUT / AFPTV TEAMS IN PARIS WERE ABLE TO VERIFY THE LOCATION OF THE VIDEOS THROUGH SATELLITE IMAGES. THE VIDEOS WERE FILMED IN ZARAS, IRAN. WE WERE UNABLE TO CONTACT THE AUTHORS OF THE VIDEOS. GPS COORDINATES: 31.591042143943394, 50.27496992971525 Attention editors: AFP is covering the war in the Middle East through its extensive regional network, including its bureaus in Tehran, Beirut, Jerusalem, the Gulf monarchies, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. However, since the start of the war, the agency's journalists have been working under increasingly restrictive conditions. Governments throughout the region have imposed limits on journalists' movements, including their ability to provide video live streams of what are regarded a

This video grab, taken on April 3, 2026, from UGC images posted on social media on April 3, 2026, shows a US aircraft, followed by two helicopters, flying over the town of Zaras in southern Iran’s Khuzestan province.

Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential building in Rosh HaAyin, Israel, on April 4, 2026.

epa12868049 A Houthi supporter holds up a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest against the joint US-Israeli operation in Iran, in Sana'a, Yemen, 03 April 2026. Yemen's Houthis have entered the current regional conflict by conducting missile attacks against Israel in support of Iran and its allied groups in the Middle East, one month after the United States and Israel launched military action against Iran on 28 February. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

A Houthi supporter holds up a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest against the joint US-Israeli operation in Iran, in Sana’a, Yemen, 03 April 2026.

RAMALLAH, PALESTINE - APRIL 04: Missiles launched from Iran in response to attacks attributed to the United States and Israel are seen in the skies over Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine, on April 04, 2026. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Missiles launched from Iran in response to attacks attributed to the United States and Israel are seen in the skies over Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine, on April 04, 2026.

Iran executes two men linked to opposition group

Iran on Saturday executed two men it said ‌were convicted of links to an opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran, and of carrying out armed ⁠attacks, domestic media reported.

The PMOI confirmed Saturday’s executions, saying in a statement that Iran was ‘trying to hide its ‌weakness ⁠by executing political prisoners, especially PMOI members and supporters.’

Four PMOI members were executed earlier this ⁠week.

Explosions heard in southern Iran

Iranian Fars News Agency reports explosions at the Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone – one of the largest and most critical industrial hubs in the Middle East – in southern Khuzestan province, with smoke rising from the area.

WATCH: Iranians appear to shoot at US rescue plane

This is the shocking moment Iranians appeared to shoot at a US rescue plane flying low over Iran after Iranian media claimed a US F-35 fighter jet was shot down.

IDF says it hit ‘key infrastructure’ in Tehran on Friday

The IDF says on Friday it ‘completed a ‘wave of strikes against terrorist regime infrastructure sites’ in Tehran.

‘These completed strikes are part of the ongoing phase of increasing damage to the Iranian terror regime’s core systems and foundations,’ the IDF adds.

The two US warplanes reportedly shot down by Iran

An F-15E fighter jet was down in southern Iran on Friday, which has left the US and Iran scrambling to find a missing American crew member.

The F-15E’s pilot has been rescued, but a weapons systems officer remains unaccounted for.

Iran claims it shot down a second US warplane, while US media say a A-10 Warthog was shot down, with its pilot ejecting over the Gulf and being subsequently rescued.