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Story summary
- On April 5, 2026, U.S. and Israeli forces rescued a downed F-15E pilot in Iran, with crew members recovered.
- Israel provided intelligence and paused attacks to support the mission, and U.S. President Donald Trump hailed it as among the most daring.
- Iran claimed the mission failed and American aircraft were destroyed, while the U.S. military used CIA misinformation to locate and extract the airman who evaded capture for 24 hours.
