This is a developing story.
A United States fighter jet has been shot down over Iran, a U.S. official told Reuters. A search-and-rescue effort for survivors involving numerous U.S. aircraft is currently underway.
The official, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, did not provide any additional details on the engagement.
The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Officials in Iran, meanwhile, called for the search and capture of any surviving crew members of the jet, according to reports by the semi-official ISNA news agency and the Young Journalists Club. The governor of one of the Islamic Republic’s provinces stated that anyone who captures or kills the crew would receive a special commendation.
The prospect of U.S. pilots being alive and on the run inside Iran during an ongoing conflict greatly raises the stakes for the United States.
U.S. Central Command on Tuesday issued a statement denying claims that “Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps downed an ‘enemy’ fighter jet over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“All U.S. fighter aircraft are accounted for,” the CENTCOM statement read. “Iran’s IRGC has made the same false claim at least half a dozen times.”
The location of the downed jet has not yet been confirmed.
Reuters contributed to this report.
J.D. Simkins is Editor-in-Chief of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
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