US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) hailed the operation as "one of the most daring search-and-rescue (CSAR) operations in US history" after the US military successfully rescued two airmen from an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over southwestern Iran on April 3, 2026. Addressing the White House briefing, Trump said, "I ordered the American armed forces to do whatever was necessary to bring our brave warriors back home," adding that 21 US military aircraft were deployed as part of that mission.

The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iran on April 3, 2026, marking the first US crewed aircraft lost in Iranian territory during the ongoing conflict. The crew, consisting of a pilot and a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO), ejected safely, but the WSO, a colonel, was injured and stranded in the Zagros Mountains for nearly 48 hours.