By Joshua Klein   April 5, 2026

The United States executed what officials described as “one of the most challenging and complex” rescue missions in the history of U.S. special operations to recover a downed Air Force officer deep inside Iran after he survived more than 24 hours behind enemy lines — injured during a violent ejection, hunted across mountainous terrain by Iranian forces and civilians, and ultimately located through a high-stakes intelligence effort that initially raised fears of a trap before culminating in a dramatic extraction that forced U.S. forces to destroy their own aircraft.

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