The picture from the historic rescue operation that extracted a US Air Force navigator from Iran is beginning to come into focus, with new details emerging Sunday about the bold mission.
According to disclosures by Axios, the CIA ran a sustained deception operation against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and succeeded in planting false information among the forces conducting the manhunt for the American crewman. A senior official in the agency told the outlet that by using fabricated transmissions, CIA operatives convinced the Iranians that the pilot had already been extracted and moved to various locations inside Iran – effectively steering Revolutionary Guards troops away from the actual search area.
Video: Under heavy fire: footage from the rescue of the missing American airman in Iran. Credit: Arab media
Reports on social media, alongside footage that has surfaced, indicate that the US Air Force erected a forward operating base overnight to which hundreds of commando fighters were airlifted to participate in sweeps, searches, and direct combat against Iranian forces. At least two of the C-130 Hercules planes that landed at the base were later destroyed by the Americans after mechanical problems were discovered. The New York Times reported that the aircraft were destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
It was further reported that three new aircraft were dispatched to the forward base to extract all the forces and that they successfully took off from the improvised runway. According to Fox News, several personnel were wounded in the firefight with the attacking force, including the navigator who was rescued.
American media reported that local tribespeople assisted the navigator and the rescue forces, and that a Revolutionary Guards unit that arrived on the scene engaged the rescuers in a fierce battle. Sources in Iran report that at least several members of the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards were killed in the exchange of fire.
Fox News reported that Israel played a role in the rescue operation, sharing intelligence throughout the final 36 hours of the mission on Iranian soil. A separate report from Saturday added that Israel paused its strikes on Iran to open a safe corridor for the rescue forces and help guide the missing crewman to safety.
According to two sources, both crew members made contact using the communications equipment in their survival kits immediately after ejection. The pilot was rescued several hours after the aircraft was downed. Locating the weapons systems officer took more than 24 hours. Fox News reported that the navigator moved away from the wreckage of his aircraft and climbed an isolated ridge, where he activated his rescue beacon. He was rescued after 48 hours on Iranian soil. According to various reports, he was located and extracted in serious condition, having sustained a significant injury.
The rescue was carried out in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province (a mountainous region in southwestern Iran). According to ISNA (Iran's state-run news agency), a strike in the province resulted in casualties. Heavy exchanges of gunfire and missile fire can be heard and seen in videos that spread on social media.
