Iran downs US fighter jet, raising stakes in war

Iran shot down a US warplane on Friday in the first such known incident of the five-week war, officials from both nations said, with one of the crew members rescued after ejecting and the other still missing, according to a US source.

The incident showed the risks still faced by US and Israeli aircraft over Iran despite assertions by US President Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that their forces had total control of the skies.

Meanwhile, a second US Air Force combat plane crashed in the Gulf region on Friday, the New York Times reported, citing two US officials. Its only pilot was then rescued, the Times said.

Iranian media said residents were shooting at US helicopters on a search-and-rescue mission after the downing of what US sources said was a two-seat F-15E jet.

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

The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

William Goodhind, a forensic imagery analyst with Contested Ground, said images of the plane's tail fin seen in photos posted on social media are consistent with that of an F-15E Strike Eagle, which carries two crew.

NO SIGN OF END TO WAR

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

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

The US and Israel opened the campaign with a wave of strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. The war has killed thousands and threatened lasting damage to the global economy.

So far, 13 US military service members have been killed in the conflict and more than 300 have been wounded, according to the US Central Command.

Iran has rained drones and missiles down on Israel. It has also taken aim at Gulf countries allied to the US, which have so far held back from joining the war directly.

In a security alert on Friday, the US embassy in Beirut said Iran and its aligned armed groups may target universities in Lebanon, urging US citizens in the country to leave while commercial flights are still available.

Israel has been waging a parallel campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon after the group fired at Israel in support of Iran.

TRUMP THREATENS TO STRIKE BRIDGES, POWER PLANTS

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

On Thursday, Trump posted footage on social media showing dust and smoke billowing up as US strikes hit the newly constructed B1 bridge between Tehran and nearby Karaj, which was due to open this year, and said more attacks would follow.

"Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn't even started destroying what's left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!" he wrote in a subsequent post.

On Friday, a drone hit a Red Crescent relief warehouse in the Choghadak area of Iran's southern Bushehr province.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said its Mina al-Ahmadi refinery had been hit by drones. Other attacks were also reported to have been intercepted in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Missile debris landed near the Israeli port of Haifa, site of a major oil refinery.

The war is unpopular with Americans, with two-thirds believing the US should work to end its involvement in the conflict quickly, even if that ​means not achieving the goals set out by the ‌Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed this week.