The key role of the CIA that defined the success of the daring rescue of the pilot of the F-15 shot down by Iran

In the middle of one of the most delicate operations of the war, The United States carried out a covert incursion into the territory of Iran to rescue the second crew member of a downed F-15E Strike Eaglein a mission that combined special forces, air support and a key component that is just beginning to come to light: a deception campaign designed to confuse Iranian forces.

At midnight on Sunday, the president of the United States, donald trumpannounced that the second crew member of the downed fighter He had been “successfully rescued” after a mission that he described as “very dangerous” in Iranian territory.. He highlighted the “incredible work” of the special forces and assured that the airman was safe despite having been injured.

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Hours later, Trump revealed that the rescued pilot is “seriously injured.” He added that he is “a highly respected colonel.”

According to Trump, About 200 soldiers from special operations units participated in the operation.

On Friday, Iran shot down a US F-15 fighter on its territory. One of the two crew members was rescued shortly after, but the other was still missing, triggering a frantic search that lasted until Saturday.

In an interview with Axios, Trump said the Iranian military shot down the F-15 with a portable missile. “They were lucky,” he said.

This was the pilot’s rescue operation

According to United States media, the second pilot was in a mountainous area from the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, place that is low operational control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The pilot had a gun, a beacon and a encrypted and secure communications device to coordinate with rescuers, The New York Times reported.

trump told Axios that the pilot managed to send a messagebut it was initially feared that he was a captive and that in reality he was a trap by Iran to try to ambush US forces to come to his rescue.

Then it was certain that the message was real.

The New York Times reported that That first message from the pilot was sent 14 hours after his plane was shot down, Therefore, it is presumed that the aviator was unconscious upon landing, which is why he was initially unable to establish contact.

Wounded, the pilot walked and hid in the mountains to avoid capturewhile drones MQ-9 Reaper They bombarded the Iranian forces that were searching for him and trying to approach their position with missiles.

In an attempt to confuse the Iranians, who were offering a $60,000 reward for information on the pilot’s location or capturethe CIA orchestrated a diversionary maneuver: spread false information indicating that he had already been rescued and that he was going to be taken out of Iran by landaccording to the New York Times.

Iranian media had reported that Many people had traveled to the area to look for the soldier, but the army had asked that “no one mistreat the pilot.”

“The Iranian army was searching for him intensely, with a large contingent, and was getting dangerously close,” stated trump in one of his messages.

According to CBS, While the deception operation was underway, the CIA used its capabilities to track the pilot and managed to locate him in a mountain crevice. He immediately communicated his exact location to the Pentagon and the White House.

Trump ordered an immediate rescue missionand the CIA continued to provide information in real time.

The NYT reported that The commandos of Navy SEAL Team 6 received the mission to extract the pilotwith the participation of attack aircraft, helicopters and drones.

The search and rescue efforts were marked by cross-fire between US helicopters and Iranian forces on the ground.

The army of Iran stated on Sunday that the US commandos used a Abandoned airport in the southern province of Isfahan.

They would have landed at that airport MC-130J special operations aircraft carrying the commandos.

It is believed that those two transport planes were going to evacuate the rescue teams but They could not take off once the mission was completed. According to United States authorities, Those planes were destroyed to prevent them from falling into enemy hands, and the commands They managed to leave in three other aircraft that were sent to pick them up.

However, Iran He assured that it was his military forces that destroyed the two MC-130J planes and also two Black Hawk helicopters.

Furthermore, in images released by Iranian state media, the burned remains of two MH-6/AH-6 Little Bird light helicopters used in special operations, known as Night Stalkers, said the New York Post.

According to CBS, The three rescue planes flew from Iran to Kuwait, one after another at short distance. The mission concluded just before midnight Sunday in the US, with all US forces out of enemy airspace.

trump He explained that the rescue took place in broad daylight, “something also unusual.”

“This is the first time in military history that two American pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory.”Trump wrote. “WE WILL NEVER ABANDONE AN ​​AMERICAN SOLDIER!” he continued.

The CIA was key and deception defined the success of the rescue in Iran

For Andrés Gómez de la Torrespecialist in defense and intelligence issues, the rescue of the crew member of the F-15E Strike Eagle in Iran reflects the evolution towards “hybrid or multidomain wars”, where military operations are combined with advanced intelligence and disinformation campaigns.

As explained to The Commercethe mission would have been supported first by aggressive operational intelligence with high knowledge of the terrain, through image and signal intelligence. And secondly, he considered that the participation of local collaborators is very likely opponents of the ayatollah regime.

“Beyond that, we must highlight the deception maneuvers promoted by the CIA, which has become more aggressive under the government of Donald Trump,” he remarked.

In this context, Gómez de la Torre considered that advancing an alleged rescue and ground transfer of the pilot was key to diverting Iranian attention, thus avoiding a scenario of capture of the military that would have opened the door to pressure and political negotiation such as those experienced after the Iran Hostage Crisis during the Jimmy Carter government.

“We would have had blackmail as a tool of negotiation and psychological warfare in favor of Iran if the crew member was captured”, he added.

Gómez de la Torre added that the operation combined special forces—with the Navy SEALs leading the way—and the intensive use of MQ-9 Reaper drones, which would have played a relevant role in nighttime actions to cause casualties to the enemy. Although he acknowledged that the operation involved a high material cost due to the loss of aircraft, he stressed its strong political impact by reinforcing the position of Washington and Trump himself in the conflict.