US officials confirm Iran shot down American fighter jet, search for pilot

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US officials have confirmed that a fighter jet was shot down over Iran and that a search and rescue operation is currently being conducted to locate the pilot.

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Reuters reports that the officials said the military is on the lookout to confirm if the pilot is still alive.

Iran, on the other hand, has urged its citizens to be on the lookout for survivors. Although it was earlier claimed that the pilot was unlikely to have survived the crash.

The IRGC also flooded social media with purported images of the wreck.

However, the officials did not specify if the aircraft downed was indeed the US F-35 fighter jet, which Iran has claimed it struck. Some reports say the aircraft was an F-15, an older version flown with two pilots.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that if it is an F-35, it will be the second US F-35 fighter jet to be struck in two weeks.

A US F-35 jet had been struck earlier during a combat mission over Iran, forcing it to make an emergency landing at a US base in the Middle East.

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But no casualty was recorded in that attack.

The F-35 Lightning II is among the most advanced fighter aircraft in operation and a cornerstone of US and allied air power, with each unit costing over $100 million.

READ ALSO: US/Israel-Iran War (Day 35): UN postpones vote on Strait of Hormuz

The possibility that the US pilot may be stuck in Iran raises the stakes for Donald Trump’s administration in a conflict that has lacked strong public support since it began.

However, the recent attack follows President Trump’s threat to “bomb Iran back to the Stone Age” by increasing attacks on civilian infrastructure if it does not accept a ceasefire agreement.