A U.S. fighter jet was shot down while flying over Iran on Friday, and the U.S. military has launched a major search and rescue operation.<\/p>\n
U.S. officials confirmed that an aircraft was shot down over Iran and that a search and rescue operation had begun, according to multiple reports. The confirmation came after\u00a0Iranian state media said early Friday morning that Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a U.S. F-15 fighter jet over the Southern Tehran Province. The regime-controlled media also published photos online appearing to show parts of a jet.<\/p>\n
Israeli journalist Amit Segal reported that the United States has activated<\/a> \u201clarge forces\u201d as part of a search and rescue operation.<\/p>\n The Daily Wire reached out to the War Department and Central Command, seeking comment on the reports of the downed U.S. fighter jet.<\/p>\n An Iranian state broadcaster told residents of the province to capture the \u201cenemy\u2019s pilot or pilots\u201d and hand them over to Iranian forces for a reward, The New York Times reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n CENTCOM has recently refuted multiple claims that Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down U.S. aircraft. On Thursday, CENTCOM said the Iranian forces have made false claims about shooting down U.S. aircraft \u201cat least half a dozen times.\u201d As of Friday morning, however, CENTCOM has not addressed the latest reports of an F-15 fighter jet being shot down over the Southern Tehran Province.<\/p>\n If the reports are confirmed, it would mark the first time a U.S. fighter jet was shot down by Iran since President Donald Trump launched \u201cOperation Epic Fury.\u201d<\/p>\n