US F-15E Shot Down Over Iran, Pilot May Be in IRGC Custody as Locals Offered Reward to Capture Americans

An American F-15E Strike Eagle has been downed over southern Iran, with credible reports indicating the pilot ejected into enemy territory and may now be in the custody of Iranian forces, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency and multiple open-source intelligence sources. A US official confirmed to Reuters that a jet had been shot down.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft on Friday. According to Tasnim, US forces apparently operating on the belief that the pilot survived launched a combat search-and-rescue operation inside Iranian territory in a bid to extract him. However, some sources told the agency that Iranian forces have likely already captured the pilot.

IRGC Claims Second F-35 Destroyed; First Was Downed on March 19

Separately, the IRGC announced Friday morning that a second F-35 fighter jet had been destroyed over central Iran using what it described as a new advanced defence system deployed by its Aerospace Force. The IRGC stated the aircraft belonged to the Lakenheath squadron, was completely destroyed upon impact, and that its pilot likely did not eject. Iran had previously claimed to have shot down its first-ever F-35 on March 19.

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Iranian Governor Announces Reward; Local TV Tells Citizens to ‘Shoot Americans on Sight’

In the immediate aftermath, a state media-affiliated channel in Iran’s Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province publicly urged local residents to hunt down the American pilot. The governor of the province announced a reward for anyone who captures or kills him.

A local television channel in the province initially told viewers to “shoot them as soon as you see them” upon spotting Americans before revising the directive on air. A news anchor then announced that anyone who captures the enemy pilot alive and hands them over to police will receive “a valuable prize.”

The same channel aired footage showing metal debris loaded in the back of a pickup truck while making the announcement, as reported by AP. Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province lies approximately 500 kilometres (310 miles) south-west of Tehran and covers over 15,500 square kilometres.

Following the shootdown, Iranian state media circulated images appearing to show American aircraft including helicopters, fixed-wing planes, and drones operating over the area, consistent with an active combat search-and-rescue mission.