Trump says US military rescued airman shot down over Iran: NPR

A U.S. Air Force officer whose plane was shot down over Iran was rescued by the U.S. military early Sunday after evading capture behind enemy lines for more than a day, President Trump announced on social media.

“The US military sent dozens of planes equipped with the world’s deadliest weapons to bring him back. He was injured, but he will be fine.” Trump said Truth on Social.

The officer’s F-15 fighter jet was shot down over western Iran on Friday, and Trump said it was “one of the most daring search and rescue missions in American history” to rescue him.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel helped the US rescue the airmen by sharing intelligence and preventing Israeli strikes in the search area.

Elsewhere in the region, there was no let-up in fighting, even as many Middle Eastern Christians celebrated Easter Sunday.

Worshipers light candles during Easter Sunday Mass at St. Sarkis Cathedral, the Armenian Apostolic Church, in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, April 5, 2026.

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Francisco Seco/AP

Here are more updates on the war in Iran today:

Trump praised American rescue operation

Trump said the airman was a colonel and was “behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran.”

He was one of two crew members who ejected from their jet after the collision. The pilot was rescued immediately after the shootdown, but the weapons officer, the Colonel, could not be immediately contacted.

The US military struggled to launch a large-scale rescue operation. President Trump said in his Truth Social post that dozens of planes were involved.

Three of the rescue planes, which were flying at low altitude, also came under Iranian fire, according to a US official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

There was an A-10 Warthog. The pilot managed to fly until he reached a nearby Kuwaiti airfield, where he bailed out and was rescued. The US official said two helicopters were hit by Iranian fire, but were able to return safely to base.

Several videos over the weekend showed planes and helicopters that resembled US search and rescue (SAR) planes flying over southwestern Iran. NPR was able to geolocate a video to a bridge in Khuzestan province. This bridge is located in a mountainous area about 100 miles inside.

Trump praised the rescue operations as evidence that “we have achieved overwhelming air dominance and superiority over Iranian skies,” but the fact that the pilots had already been shot down has led some analysts to question an assessment that Trump has repeatedly made.

It was the first time in more than twenty years that two combat aircraft had been shot down, the last being during the war in Iraq in 2003.

In mid-March, an American F-35 aircraft was attacked by a missile, causing significant damage to the aircraft and injuring the pilot. NPR was told at the time that the F-35 aircraft was able to return to its base, but the plane made a hard landing.

Since the war with Iran began six weeks ago, 13 US service members have been killed in air strikes and a refueling plane crash in Iraq. More than a dozen US soldiers were injured in the attack on the Saudi airbase, many of them in critical condition.

Israel helped in the rescue

An Israeli military official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, told NPR that Israel shared intelligence with the US and halted Israeli strikes in the search area as US troops rescued the Air Force officer whose plane was shot down over Iran.

Israel is now focusing on targeting Iran’s steel and petrochemical industries which are vital to Iran’s economy and military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that Israeli military strikes in Iran had destroyed much of Iran’s steel manufacturing capabilities. And also on Saturday Israel said it bombed a petrochemical complex needed to manufacture the missiles.

Easter air strikes in Lebanon

In Lebanon, Easter services were mixed with funerals after Israel launched a wave of attacks in its northern neighbor. The attacks targeted Lebanon’s south, the Bekaa Valley and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.

Members of Lebanon’s General Security stand at the Masna border crossing in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026.

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Israel says it is targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants who have fired rockets across the border.

UN peacekeepers said they have lodged a formal protest after Israeli troops destroyed security cameras outside a UN base in southern Lebanon. Last month, three UN peacekeepers were killed and several injured.

Hezbollah said on Sunday it used a missile against an Israeli warship off the coast of Lebanon, but the Israeli military said it had no knowledge of that incident.

In addition to ordering people out of the country’s southern region, Israel’s military is also ordering the evacuation of Lebanon’s main crossing with neighboring Syria – warning it could attack that area as well.

Israelis hold anti-war protests

As the Middle East war enters its sixth week, anti-war protests are increasing in Israel.

Demonstrations took place in several cities in Israel over the weekend, with police breaking up a large gathering in Tel Aviv.

Hundreds of protesters carried signs bearing the faces of Lebanese children killed by Israeli forces. One protester, Shiri Katz, told NPR: “I think this war is going nowhere.”

People raise their hands during a protest to end the war in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, April 4, 2026.

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Katz said, “As much as I want to see peace in the Middle East and freedom and democracy for Iran, let’s face it, we’re not going to get it from this war.”

Police broke up the protest and made arrests. Large gatherings are banned during wartime due to security reasons. But Israel’s High Court says hundreds of people could protest.

Russia evacuated workers from Iran’s power plant

Russia says it is continuing to evacuate its workers from Iran’s only operational nuclear power plant amid ongoing US-Israeli attacks. The latest evacuation comes after Tehran said its nuclear facility was attacked – killing an Iranian security guard.

The head of Russia’s atomic energy agency, Rosatom’s Alexei Likhachev, said about 200 Russian workers had left the Bushehr nuclear facility by bus minutes before the plant was hit, and were now on their way out of Iran.

Likhachev, who had been gradually withdrawing his staff of 700 Russian workers from the nuclear plant since the US-Israeli strikes began a month earlier, suggested that a full withdrawal was now imminent.

Iran has repeatedly accused the US and Israel of targeting Bushehr.

And although there has been no registered increase in radiation levels, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has said it is “deeply concerned” at the ongoing fighting near the facility.

Trump starts countdown to Strait of Hormuz deadline

Trump wrote on social media on Saturday that Iran is running out of time to open the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway for much of the world’s gas and oil supplies.

“Remember when I gave Iran 10 days to make a deal or open the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said. wrote.

“Time is running out – 48 hours before all hell will reign over them.”

The deadline ends on Monday. Trump gave Iran several deadlines since the war began, but then revised them.

Greg Myre in Washington, Daniel Estrin and Itay Stern in Tel Aviv, Lauren Fryer in Beirut, Charles Mains in Moscow and Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg contributed reporting.