US President Donald Trump repeated his threat to strike Iranian infrastructure hard if Tehran it does not open the Strait of Hormuz by April 6, using explosive language hours after announcing that US forces rescued the second crew member of a downed F-15 fighter jet in a high-risk mission.
"Tuesday [April 7] will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Earlier in the day, Trump said the F-15E crew member who had been the subject of a frantic search since the jet was downed on April 3 had been safely rescued in what he called a "miraculous" operation.
"We got him," Trump posted on his Truth Social shortly after word of the rescue was made public, saying that the crew member had "sustained injuries, but he will be just fine." Several media outlets reported that the soldier was taken to a hospital in Kuwait.
In a subsequent post, Trump wrote that the crew member had been "seriously wounded," identified him as a colonel, and said he had been rescued "from deep inside the mountains of Iran.
"The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close," he added.
The elaborate nighttime operation came one day ahead of a deadline Trump has set for Tehran to make a deal with Washington or open the crucial Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
In his new post on April 5, Trump focused on the strait and did not mention the prospects for a deal with Iran.
Tehran launched new attacks on energy infrastructure in Persian Gulf nations and responded defiantly to the warning from Trump, who said a day earlier that Iran would face "hell" if the April 6 deadline is not met.
The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iranian air defenses on April 3, becoming the first US aircraft lost over Iran during the five-week conflict. The first crew member was recovered within hours of ejecting from the crippled jet.
In his post, Trump said no Americans were killed or wounded during the operations.
"Mission accomplished,” a US official told RFE/RL following the April 5 rescue.
Media reports cited unnamed US and regional officials as saying two transport planes that were supposed to be part of the mission failed to leave a remote base in Iran. US officials said the aircraft were destroyed to keep Iran's military from obtaining them.
Iran's military issued a contradictory account and asserted that the US operation was "completely foiled," but did not provide evidence beyond images it said showed parts of destroyed US aircraft and did not claim that Iran had captured the crew member or directly deny he had been extracted.
In a statement shown in state television, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the Iranian military's central command, said that "two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed" during the course of the US operation.
US Special Operations Forces
The second crew member -- identified as the weapons systems officer (WSO) -- was recovered early on April 5 local time in a complex, multilayered rescue effort involving US Special Operations forces and other military units.
According to US officials and regional sources cited by Fox News, both the rescued airman and the recovery team have since safely exited Iran.
There was no immediate official update on the WSO’s condition.
Both crew members ejected when their aircraft was struck during a nighttime mission over southwestern Iran. According to Axios and Fox News, they quickly established contact with US forces using emergency communications equipment.
The WSO reportedly used Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training to avoid capture, moving away from the wreckage and taking cover on elevated terrain, where an emergency beacon was activated to guide rescuers.
US officials said Iranian forces, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and affiliated Basij units, were actively searching for the downed airman. American rescue teams faced attempts to intercept the operation, and US forces engaged to keep Iranian units at bay.
Ground Fighting
Fox News, citing sources briefed on the mission, reported that fighting occurred on the ground during the rescue, though no US personnel were killed. Videos circulating from local witnesses allegedly show casualties among Iranian forces involved in the search effort.
“It was a very complex operation to retrieve the downed service member,” a source familiar with the mission told Fox News, noting that multiple branches of the US military were involved.
The operation included elite rescue personnel such as US Air Force Pararescuemen, supported by air and ground assets. Two rescue helicopters were reportedly hit by enemy fire during the mission, with crew members wounded but able to withdraw safely from Iranian territory.
Hours before the rescue was confirmed, Iranian media reported air strikes in southwestern Iran, where the missing crew member was believed to be hiding.
Western officials said Israel delayed planned strikes in the area to avoid disrupting US rescue operations. The New York Times, citing an Israeli official, reported that Israel shared intelligence with US forces.
Iranian authorities had also been searching for the crew members and had reportedly offered rewards to civilians who could capture and hand them over.
US officials had warned that the capture of an American crew member by Iranian forces could have sharply escalated tensions and complicated Washington’s broader military objectives in the conflict.
The downed F-15E was described as largely destroyed on impact.
In a related incident, Fox News confirmed that an A-10 Warthog providing cover for the rescue effort crashed on April 3 in Kuwait. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered.
Deadline Looms
The second F-15E crew member's rescue came as the deadline set by Trump, who has warned that the US will carry out extensive attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure if it is not met, drew closer.
Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of global oil and natural gas supplies normally pass, leading to a worldwide energy crisis and driving up prices.
“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out -- 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on April 4.
On March 30, Trump said that "if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached" by April 6. US forces will react " by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)”
Trump initially gave Tehran a 48-hour deadline on March 21 but then extended it, saying he wanted to give talks a chance. Iran has rejected a 15-point US plan presented to it via Pakistani mediators but has left open the possibility of further negotiations.
An Iranian military commander dismissed the latest threat from Trump on April 4, saying that the "doors of hell will be opened to you." General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi's warning came in a statement from Iran's central military command.
Iran has launched missile and drone attacks against Israel and Persian Gulf nations, in some cases targeting US forces or assets, since the war begin with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28. Numerous attacks have targeted energy infrastructure in Gulf nations.
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said they were fighting fires at a petrochemical plant sparked by debris from intercepted Iranian missile and drone attacks. No injuries were reported and damage was being assessed while operations were suspended at the plant in Ruwais Industrial City, the Defense Ministry said.
Bahrain's Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company said a fire broke out at one of its facilities after an Iranian drone attack and had been brought under control, the state news agency reported on April 5. No injuries were reported and damage was being assessed, the agency said.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a fire broke out in its Shuwaikh oil sector complex, which houses the oil ministry and the state corporation's headquarters, KPC headquarters, after a drone attack, the Kuwaiti state news agency reported early on April 5.
Kuwaiti state media said an Iranian drone hit an office complex for government ministries, causing significant damage but no casualties. Also, Kuwait's electricity and water ministry said two power generation units were shut off after Iranian drones targeted two power and desalination plants, causing substantial damage.
