President Donald Trump said Sunday he feared a message from a stranded crew member of a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by Iran could have been a trap set by Iranian forces.
The crew member survived more than 24 hours in the mountains despite being wounded. He was rescued Saturday by about 200 U.S. special operations troops.
Trump spoke to Axios about an hour after confirming the rescue Sunday morning, saying that “thousands of these savages were hunting him down,” referring to members of the Iranian military.
“Even the population was looking for him. They offered people a bonus if they captured him,” Trump said.
Trump said the Iranian military shot down the F-15 using a shoulder-fired missile.
“They got lucky,” he said.
The weapons system officer hid in a mountain crevice, Trump said, adding the U.S. military had “beeping” tracking information about his location.
After a radio message, officials suspected he might be in Iranian captivity. They believed Iran could be “sending false signals” to lure U.S. forces into a trap.
Trump said the officer gave a short, unusual message over his radio after ejecting from the aircraft.
“He said, ‘Power be to God,’” Trump said.
A U.S. defense official confirmed Trump’s account to Axios but said the exact phrase was “God is good.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth used the phrase “God is good” in an X post Sunday morning.
“What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,” Trump said.
People who know the officer said he is a religious person, and it made sense for him to say that, Trump added.
The defense official confirmed that account.
“It was not completely clear early on, but we stuck with it and verified he was alive and not captured,” the official told Axios. “And those who knew him said he is religious.”
Trump noted the pilot was rescued much more quickly, in daylight, under heavy fire from Iranian forces.
A U.S. defense official called the first operation Friday “a bold and quick snatch” in daylight, while the second was carried out at night after establishing a temporary base inside Iran.
“The two crew members were spread apart by a couple of miles. Hundreds of IRGC [ Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] soldiers were everywhere,” the defense official said.
Trump said Israel Defense Forces helped the U.S. military “a little bit” during the search and rescue of both crew members.
A U.S. defense official said the Israelis did not provide information about the location of the weapons system officer but shared intelligence about the general situation on the ground.
The Israeli Air Force conducted one strike to prevent Iranian forces from reaching the area, Israeli officials said.
“They have been good partners,” Trump said. “They have been great and brave people. We are like a big brother and little brother.”
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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