‘We Don’t Leave Any American Behind,’ Trump Says After Rescue of Pilots

US President Donald Trump praised what Trump called a "historic" rescue of two US F-15E crew members from Iran, after the jet was shot down, saying the United States sent large forces into hostile territory and recovered both personnel without any American casualties.

Trump said both air crew ejected over Iran and survived, and that Trump instructed the US Army to do whatever was required to bring "our brave warriors back home", describing the decision as dangerous but insisting that "we don't leave any American behind."

Trump historic rescue mission of US pilots from Iran

Speaking at a White House press conference held one day before Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz ended, Trump told reporters, "We're here today to celebrate the success of one of the largest, most complex, most harrowing, combat searches, I guess you would call it a search-and-rescue mission, ever attempted by the military," and said the mission was "historic that will go down in the books."

Trump expanded on the scale of the historic rescue mission of US pilots from Iran, explaining, "You send in 200 men to pick up one, and it's something that's usually not attempted as much as you want to attempt… We were helped by a lot of people, a lot of great people. It was an honour to be involved with it. It's very historic," while stressing the coordination between multiple US military units.

Trump historic rescue operation of US pilots from Iran: aircraft and search phases

Detailing the first stage of the historic rescue of US pilots from Iran, Trump said at least 21 US aircraft took part in the opening wave, flew for hours under "very, very heavy enemy fire" and that one helicopter returned with several bullet holes, yet "This first wave of search and rescue forces successfully located the pilot of the F-15, and he was extracted from enemy territory by an HH-60 Jolly Green 2 helicopter."

Trump then described how the mission to recover the second crew member in the historic rescue of US pilots from Iran grew, saying 155 aircraft took part overall, including 64 fighters, 48 refuelling tankers and 13 dedicated rescue aircraft, and adding, "We preferred to blow up my two cargo planes that got stuck in the sand so that the Iranians wouldn't get our equipment," while the weapons system officer, who was "bleeding profusely," climbed mountainous ground and managed to reach US forces by radio.

Trump historic rescue of US pilots from Iran amid wider Iran tensions

Trump linked the historic rescue of US pilots from Iran to broader tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump had warned Iran to reopen by a set deadline, and the operation followed comments such as "Entire Country Can Be Taken In One Night, Maybe Tomorrow" directed at Iran, while separate reports noted Trump’s 'Doomsday Plane’ circling a nuclear base after Iran rejected a ceasefire.