New Details Of The US Special Forces Landing In Iran Have Emerged

• 6.04.2026, 10:51

A successful operation was extremely risky.

The US conducted a successful operation in Iran to rescue the pilot of a downed F-15 fighter jet, but came up short due to a technical malfunction during the rescue. U.S. officials told Reuters.

American commandos stealthily penetrated deep into Iran under cover of darkness and pulled the stranded pilot to safety, taking him to a secret rendezvous point before dawn. And then the problems began.

"Two MC-130 planes carrying about 100 special forces fighters to a hard-to-reach area south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and were unable to take off," the agency's interlocutor said.

Their commanders made a risky decision, ordering additional planes to fly into Iran to evacuate the group in several waves.

"If there was a moment when I thought, 'Damn it!' this was it," the official said.

The resulting operation was a success. In doing so, U.S. forces destroyed the damaged MC-130 aircraft and four additional helicopters inside Iran so as not to risk leaving classified equipment there.