Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday mocked the US after reports circulated that an American fighter jet had been shot down over southwestern Iran, taunting Washington for launching what he termed was a “no strategy war,” claiming that the US was losing the war, and that its goal of a regime change was now relegated to search for its pilots.
“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? Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.
His remarks came as Iranian state media reported that air defences had downed a US F-15E Strike Eagle, with the aircraft’s two-member crew ejecting before impact, and a high-stakes search operation going on
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The downing was confirmed by US officials later, who said that Iran shot down two American planes on Friday; one F15 and one A10 Warthog.
According to the reports, one crew member has been rescued, while another remains unaccounted for, with Iranian authorities announcing a $600,000 a reward for information which leads to capture of the missing officer, as search efforts continue.
The shoot-down marks the first instance of an American craft being downed by enemy force crashed inside Iranian territory, triggering an immediate search-and-rescue operation, while details surrounding the second aircraft remain limited.
Additionally, this development occurred just two days after President Donald Trump claimed in a national address that Washington had utterly “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and promised to “finish the job very fast”, a claim that was heavily mocked by Tehran.
