Downed planes spell new peril for Trump as Tehran hunts missing US pilot

Iran's forces were hunting on Saturday for a missing US pilot from one of two warplanes downed over Iran and the Gulf, officials from both sides said, while two airmen were rescued.

The incidents show the risks still facing US and Israeli aircraft over Iran as the war entered its sixth week, despite assertions by President Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that US forces had total control of the skies.

The prospect of a US service person alive and on the run in Iran raises the stakes for Washington in a conflict with low public support among Americans and no sign of an imminent end.

Iranian fire brought down a two-seat US F-15E jet, officials in both countries said, while two US officials said the pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft that crashed in Kuwait after being hit by Iranian fire.

Two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in the search for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two US officials told Reuters.

The scale of injuries to the crew was unclear.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing a southwestern area near where the pilot's plane came down, while the regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed "forces of the hostile enemy".

Trump has been in the White House receiving updates on the rescue effort, a senior administration official told Reuters. The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iran has told mediators it is not prepared to meet with US officials in Islamabad in coming days and that efforts led by Pakistan to reach a ceasefire have hit a dead end, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday.

The war has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatened lasting damage to the global economy since the initial strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The conflict has killed 13 US military service members, with more than 300 wounded, the US Central Command says.

Iran struck a power and water plant in Kuwait on Friday, after Trump threatened to hit Iran's bridges and power plants, underlining the vulnerability of Gulf states that rely heavily on desalination plants for drinking water.

On Thursday, Trump posted images of billowing dust and smoke as US strikes hit the B1 bridge set to open this year, linking Tehran and nearby Karaj. He threatened more attacks.