Report: Israeli commando units participated in rescue of US navigator

Iran International reported that the IDF commando units Shaldag and Sayeret Matkal took part in the American operation to rescue the F-15 navigator whose aircraft was shot down in Iran.

 

The IDF commando units Shaldag and Sayeret Matkal participated in the American operation to rescue the navigator whose plane was downed in Iran on Friday, according to a report today (Sunday) by the opposition channel “Iran International."

Earlier, Fox News reported that Israel was involved in the rescue operation by sharing intelligence with the United States and by halting Iranian strikes in the area during the hours when the navigator was missing.

This was an operation by US forces that operated on the ground inside Iran to rescue the navigator. It is the first time during the war that the United States has deployed ground forces.

According to the report, the navigator used his “Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape" (SERE) training to avoid capture. He hid on an elevated ridge after moving on foot away from the crash site and activated a distress transmitter. He survived with only a handgun and managed to evade potential captors.

Rescue forces from US special operations units, along with multiple elite forces, took part in the complex mission, using MQ-9 Reaper drones for aerial cover.

It was also reported that the CIA spread rumors inside Iran that the officer had already been located and that American forces were on their way out-creating confusion among local forces and aiding the operation.

US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social account this morning: WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND! This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue."

"At my direction, the U.S. Military sent dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him. He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine. This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful rescue of another brave Pilot, yesterday, 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 U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND! The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies. This is a moment that ALL Americans, Republican, Democrat, and everyone else, should be proud of and united around. We truly have the best, most professional, and lethal Military in the History of the World. GOD BLESS AMERICA, GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS, AND HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!" Truth stated.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/425054

 

 

METHINKS THAT THE IRANIANS HAD A GOOD LAUGH...

 

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The Pentagon has a long habit of “disguising and hiding the fact that they have been losing significant numbers to injury or even death of personnel,” and it can’t be ruled out that losses are written off as contractors, Stockholm University professor Isa Blumi told Sputnik.

"There are many people who work for the US military who have been taken out, who have been forced to leave their sites of operations. In that regard, we need to distrust most or everything that comes out of Washington," Blumi, a renowned expert on modern Middle East affairs explained.

"That obviously includes information about deaths — of either the pilots of the original plane or the search and rescue mission itself, considering how many aircraft were actually destroyed," the observer said.

Saturday’s operation can be characterized as a “success” only in so far as its coverage by the corporate media, “owned by the same people pushing for war on Iran,” diverted attention from other crises and scandals, including the war's impact on ordinary Americans, Blumi said.

“If there is any success, it is the success of getting people to talk about things other than what is actually happening on the ground,” the academic added, noting that based on accounts of US troops with access to information blacked out by the media, the war “is not turning out well” for the US-Israeli coalition.

"So no success, other than the success of the media campaign to get people to talk about a pilot, as opposed to the thousands of people whose lives have been impacted by this — let alone the material, long-term economic consequences, and environmental consequences," Professor Blumi summed up.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20260405/why-us-pilot-rescue-op-is-far-from-success-1123949543.html

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hSHn-ulJD8&t=397s

INTERVIEW: A dull and faded lie

 

The exfiltration of US pilot from Iran is a $400m cover story, says ex-CIA man Larry Johnson. Eight or more crashed planes in the desert, unknown US casualties, it was a preamble to seizing an Iranian nuclear plant....

 

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In an embarrassing twist, the US military reportedly bombed its own planes during a rescue mission inside Iran, according to Iran’s air defense command.

“After Iran's fighters completed the encirclement — the contemptible enemy, in order to prevent the disgrace of Trump and preserve the hollow prestige of their army, was forced to heavily bomb their own downed aircraft, equipment, commanders, and soldiers,” a spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, the country’s integrated air defense command, said.

According to the statement, multiple US aircraft were “struck and forced into emergency landings south of Isfahan,” including:

 

2 C-130 military transport planes

 

2 Black Hawk helicopters

The statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps described the US operation as “failed,” saying the outcome “cannot be repaired by rhetoric, media warfare, or psychological operations.”

https://sputnikglobe.com/20260406/us-bombed-its-own-aircraft-during-rescue-mission-in-iran--irgc-1123950491.html

 

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Twelve US military aircraft lost in a single operation inside Iran.

Iranian military analysts say the US lost 12 military aircraft in its “rescue” operation, including two C-130 transport planes, four Little Bird helicopters, four Black Hawks, and two MQ-9 drones, Tasnim News Agency reported.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20260406/us-loses-12-aircraft-in-single-operation--report-1123950928.html

 

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AS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH [06/04/2026] HEADLINE SCREAMS "WE'VE GOT HIM" MEANING THAT THE MISSING NAVIGATOR WAS SAVED — THE WHOLE LOT HAD THE SMELL OF DECEIT.

THE "RESCUE MISSION" WAS A COVER FOR INFLITRATING IRAN WITH A US MILITARY TEAM BRIEFED TO GO AND CAPTURE THE "URANIUM"... THIS AMERICAN MISSION ENDED UP IN MASSIVE FAILURE...

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INReKeWmdjA

BREAKING: American Pilot's Underwear Found at Crash Site - Professor Marandi Explains

 

AI GENERATED VIDEO.... NEWS PROBABLY 100 5 TRUE....

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X288lEP9M84

TRUMP CALLS IT A WIN— Iran shows the cost

 

TRUMP CALLS IT A WIN— Iran shows the cost

Wolf of Politics and Axis Brief

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101,261 views 6 Apr 2026 #OperationEpicFury #IranWar2026 #F15ShotDown
On April 3, 2026, a single surface-to-air missile tore through an F-15E Strike Eagle over southwestern Iran, producing the first confirmed manned aircraft loss of Operation Epic Fury. Less than twenty-four hours earlier, C E N T C O M Commander Admiral Brad Cooper had told reporters that Iranian air defenses had largely been destroyed. What followed was one of the most complex combat search and rescue missions in the history of American special operations: hundreds of special operators, S E A L Team Six, the Night Stalkers of the 160th S O A R, a C I A deception campaign run inside Iran, and a forward base established on an abandoned desert airstrip just outside Isfahan. Two M C-130J Commando II aircraft got stuck in soft ground. They were destroyed in place. The weapons systems officer, a Colonel, was recovered alive after thirty-six hours of evasion through the Zagros Mountains. The official verdict from Washington was victory. Iran called it Tabas.
The real story is not the rescue. It is what the rescue reveals. A two-billion-dollar operation to recover one officer. Thirteen Americans killed and three hundred sixty-five wounded in a casualty database that did not appear publicly for thirty-seven days. An air defense network declared largely destroyed that was still capable of killing fourth-generation strike aircraft. A ceasefire proposal rejected by Tehran on the same day the F-15E went down. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf invoked Pyrrhus of Epirus: if the United States gets three more victories like this, it will be utterly ruined. The burning wreckage in Isfahan province looks almost identical to the photographs from Desert One in 1980. The outcomes are different. The imagery is not.

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

 

What the Hell Happened with the Rescue of the F-15E WSO in Iran?

by Larry C. Johnson

 

Iran’s air defense system succeeded on Friday, April 3, in downing a US F-15E over Iran. There is some dispute and confusion about the exact location (more about that later). The pilot and the WSO (i.e., Weapons System Officer) both successfully ejected but were separated. The pilot was quickly rescued by the Combat Search and Rescue (i.e., CSAR) and the two Pave Hawk helicopters ferrying him back to safety were hit, but managed to make it to Kuwait — despite trailing visible black smoke.

The WSO was not so lucky. He reportedly landed 5 miles northwest of where he was ultimately rescued. I do not deny that he was recovered by US Special Operations forces on a ridge on a mountain — The red circle on the left hand side of the photo is the reported location of the pilot, the red circle on the right hand side of the photo is the airfield where the US Special Forces landed.

There are some real oddities about this story. The WSO is normally a Lieutenant or a Captain… This WSO is a Colonel who is the Vice Wing Commander at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base (MSAB) in Jordan. This helps explain the large number of assets devoted to finding and rescuing him. A variety of press reports claim he suffered a broken leg or a broken ankle. This raises a legitimate question… How did a man with a broken leg walk five miles and then climb a mountain? I’m not suggesting it is an impossible task, but it does raise some questions about the accuracy of the US military’s account of events.

Now here is the kicker… The geolocated wreckage of the C-130s which were apparently using a local “agricultural airstrip” (see the photo above) just happens to be right over a mountain, about 35km (21 miles) away, from Isfahan’s nuclear facility, where Iran’s ‘near-weapons grade’ enriched uranium is alleged to be stored. Was this whole affair a botched raid by US Special Operations forces to seize Iranian uranium for the Isfahan facility?

Before giving you my opinion, I want you to consider some other accounts that are circulating. The first up is Simplicius’ Substack article: It’s Official: US Boots-On-Ground Deep Inside Iran Amidst Another Day of Humiliating Losses. Simplicius claims that a large-scale US rescue operation for the second crew member (weapons systems officer) of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle has effectively confirmed the first official U.S. “boots on the ground” inside Iran. What the US presented as a straightforward combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) mission involved significant special operations forces penetrating deep into Iranian territory, resulting in heavy US losses of aircraft according to Iranian reports and open-source evidence.

Simplicius argues the “rescue” narrative may have served as cover or coincided with a broader objective: the operation was centered precisely in the area where Iran stores significant enriched uranium and nuclear-related materials. He suggests this marks a dangerous escalation, with US special operations forces now operating deep inside Iran — the first acknowledged “boots on the ground” in the current conflict.

Anthony Aguilar, a retired Special Operations officer, has a slightly different take. He offers the following hypothesis:

The rescue operation expanded to become the desired Delta Force, JSOC, SOF, ST-6 high-risk operation to ALSO seize the uranium in Iran; hence the need for so many operators, support, aircraft, etc. This WAS intended to be that operation. It failed. So what happened to the aircraft. I do not believe that they were “stuck”. I have seen MC-130Js plow through dirt, mud, snow, gravel, etc. I doubt they were stuck. It is more likely that the aircraft took hits upon entry and also likely took hits and damage while on the ground at the hasty FARP at the old airfield in Isfahan, “conveniently” close to where the suspected uranium may have been stored.

The there is Greg Bagwell, who is currently President UK Air & Space Power Association, a Podcaster, a RUSI Distinguished Fellow and a former RAF Senior Commander. He wrote the following on X:

Some may be wondering why the US flew 2 x MC-130 into a landing zone in Iran rather than use other types available. The clue is in the use of the Night Stalker AH-6 Little Bird Helicopters, which were also destroyed at the forward landing site. The WSO was located a few hundred kms inside Iran and it was probably considered too risky to fly Helos all the way in and out after so much prior warning had been given, and after the hits sustained when extracting the pilot on Day 1. But, the location of the WSO high up in the mountains and with what sounds like an injury, still needed the sort of assistance that only a Helicopter could provide. Step up the Night Stalker AH-6 Little Bird.

It’s transportable by C-130 and can be readied for flight in minutes from off loading. So all that was needed was somewhere to land a C-130 far enough away from trouble, but close enough to the downed airman. Meanwhile the AH-6 Little Bird Helicopters would have picked up the downed airman and brought him back to the airstrip. Unfortunately, the surface of the runway appears to have been unable to support a C-130. As a result, some De Havilland Canada Dash 8s (yes the irony!) were sent in to extract personnel, but these could not have carried the AH-6 Little Birds. So the only option was to destroy both the MC-130 and the AH-6 helicopters, rather than risk flying the latter out. So that’s why we didn’t see a V-22 Osprey or a Sikorsky MH-60/HH-60 Pave Hawk be involved – it was a calculation based on risk and utility. Some will see parallels with the Desert One strip disaster on Operation Eagle Claw in 1980, but this was a calculated risk that worked.

Now let me tell you what I think happened. The shoot down of the F-15E was not a ruse to disguise a planned Special Ops raid on the nuclear site in Isfahan. It was an unlucky event for the pilot and the WSO. Given the rank of the WSO — and the highly classified knowledge he has about US operations in the Gulf and in Iran — recovering him became a top priority. The urgency of the situation resulted in the JSOC unit (I’m assuming they are based in Kuwait) being alerted to join the CSAR effort. The two C-130Js probably were already loaded with two AH-6 Little Birds. I think it was pure serendipity that the missing WSO was located northwest of the rudimentary air strip that the JSOC unit had been planning to use to stage its raid on Isfahan. Their familiarity with the area, based on their prior planning for the Isfahan raid, resulted in them being tasked to recover the WSO in lieu of the designated CSAR unit, which is manned by Pararescue Jumpers aka PJs (who, in my opinion, are the baddest asses in Special Ops). 

We still do not know why the C-130s were not able to take off and that two planes from the 427th Special Operations Squadron flying C295s were summoned to carryout the extraction of the US forces, including the WSO.

This whole fiasco may be a blessing in disguise. The loss of a number of key air assets and the exposure of the remote airfield within shouting distance of Isfahan may compel the US commanders to cancel the planned raid to capture nuclear material from Iran. While the US forces, like chess pieces, had been assembled and were in place on Friday, April 3rd, to carry out the mission against Isfahan, the Commanding Admiral at CENTCOM may be having second thoughts and is communicating his concerns about the Op-Sec compromise to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I only know one thing for certain — we are not yet getting the truthful story about the rescue of the WSO on Saturday.

Today was a wild podcast buffet. I normally don’t do anything on Sundays, but the events of the previous day produced a number of requests. Scott Ritter and I chatted with the good folks at DD Geopolitics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn_Jvl7rX4M

 

https://sonar21.com/what-the-hell-happened-with-the-rescue-of-the-f-15e-wso-in-iran/

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

 

SEE ALSO: https://www.theinteldrop.org/2026/04/05/day-36-irans-revolutionary-guard-trap-7-us-aircraft-hit-as-ground-invasion-looms/