Exclusive: Trump says U.S. feared Iran trap during F-15 crew rescue
· Axios
President Trump told Axios the U.S. initially worried that a message from the stranded crew member of an F-15 downed by Iran was a trick by the Iranians to lure U.S. forces into a trap.
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The big picture: The crew member survived more than 24 hours in the mountains despite being wounded, before being rescued in a special forces operation on Saturday.
- Around 200 soldiers from special operations units participated in the operation, Trump said.
- Trump said the Iranian military shot down the F-15 using a shoulder-fired missile. "They got lucky."
- Speaking to Axios an hour after confirming the rescue, Trump said that "thousands of these savages were hunting him down," using that loaded term to refer to members of the Iranian military. "Even the population was looking for him. They offered people a bonus if they captured him."
Driving the news: The officer hid in a crevice in the mountain, Trump said, and the U.S. managed to spot him with its technology.
- Trump said that the U.S. military had "beeping information" about the officer's location. But after a radio message, officials suspected he might be in Iranian captivity and the Iranians were "sending false signals" to try to lure U.S. forces into a trap.
Behind the scenes: Trump said the weapons system officer gave a short, unusual message over his radio after ejecting from the aircraft. "He said: 'Power be to God.'"
- A U.S. defense official confirmed Trump's account but said the exact phrase was "God is good."
- Defense Secretary Hegseth used the phrase "God is good" in an X post Sunday morning.
Zoom in: "What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say," Trump said.
- People who knew the officer explained he was 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. And those who knew him said he is religious," the official said.
The President noted that the pilot was rescued much more quickly, in daylight, under heavy fire from the Iranians.
- A U.S. defense official called the first operation Friday "a bold and quick snatch" in daylight while the second was done at night after establishing a temporary base inside Iran.
- "The two crew members were spread apart by a couple miles. Hundreds of IRGC soldiers were everywhere," the defense official said.
Of note: Trump said the IDF 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 any 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. They have been great and brave people. We are like a big brother and little brother," Trump said.