Iran: U.S. military rescue "mission failed"! U.S. media: The rescued pilot has been taken to Kuwait, hiding in the mountains for over 24 hours, with only a pistol as personal weapon, at an altitude of up to 4,400 meters.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency citing Iranian media, on the 5th, an Iranian military spokesperson said that the U.S. military’s mission to rescue the pilot had “failed,” and that two U.S. “Black Hawk” helicopters and a C-130 transport aircraft were shot down.

According to @CCTV International News, a message released today (April 5) by the Central Command of the Iranian Armed Forces’ Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said that, in response to the actions taken by the United States to rescue the pilots of the aircraft that were shot down, Revolutionary Guard fighters and Basij militia carried out a joint operation. With the cooperation of the Special Operations Unit of the law enforcement command, they hit and destroyed the enemy aircraft in southern Isfahan. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also said on the same day that, during the U.S. pilots’ rescue mission, a joint multi-department operation by the Iranian armed forces destroyed the enemy aircraft. At present, this report has not yet been confirmed by the U.S. side.

On the same day, according to a report on the website of The New York Times, two U.S. military transport aircraft “became stranded” due to a malfunction while carrying out a pilot rescue mission in Iran. The U.S. then sent three new aircraft to continue the rescue mission, and blew up the two malfunctioning transport aircraft.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on the evening of April 4 local time, U.S. President Trump posted on social media saying that the U.S. carried out one of the “boldest search-and-rescue operations in American history,” and that the second missing U.S. pilot was “safe and sound.”

According to The New York Times on the 5th, the second pilot on the U.S. F-15E fighter jet that was shot down earlier has been sent to Kuwait for treatment. During the process of rescuing the pilot, the U.S. destroyed the two “stranded” U.S. transport aircraft carrying out the rescue mission.

The report said that this pilot searched for the Iranian side in mountainous areas for more than 24 hours, and that the only weapon he had with him was a pistol. The U.S. mobilized hundreds of special operations personnel to complete this rescue, and there was a firefight during the rescue with the Iranian side.

The report said that two U.S. transport aircraft “became stranded” due to a malfunction while carrying out a pilot rescue mission in Iran. The U.S. then sent 3 new aircraft to continue the rescue mission, and blew up the two malfunctioning transport aircraft.

Meanwhile, according to Iranian Tasnim News Agency on the 5th, the public relations department of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that a U.S. aircraft searching for a missing pilot was shot down in Isfahan Province. Mehr News Agency also reported that a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft was shot down on the 5th.

According to Red Star News, the Zagros Mountains, which have long been known as the “Gate of Persia,” are a typical place that is “easy to defend but hard to attack.” In ancient times, the ancient Persian people here repelled Alexander the Great’s invasions. Locals such as the Lurs and Bakhtiaris belong to semi-nomadic groups with excellent archery skills and an intimate familiarity with the terrain. Some analyses suggest that if the U.S. makes even a slight mistake here, it could replay the “Black Hawk down” incident from back then in Mogadishu, suffering a disastrous defeat.

At present, Iran’s search is focused on the two provinces of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and Velayat-e Faqih at the center of the Zagros Mountains in the southwest of Iran. This is a mountainous area adjacent to Fars Province, Isfahan Province, Khuzestan Province, and Bushehr Province, among others. It is known for its lush natural scenery and abundant wildlife ecology, and U.S. search-and-rescue units from the air have difficulty spotting targets with visual observation. The area also has Iran’s richest oil resources, accounting for about 35% of the country’s total oil and natural gas reserves.

The Zagros Mountains extend from the northwest of Iran to the Strait of Hormuz, with a total length of about 1,600 kilometers. The highest peak is Mount Dena, with an elevation of about 4,409 meters. In addition, multiple peaks such as Zard-Kuh are all above 4,200 meters. The area is known for parallel limestone ridges and extremely deep canyons.

Historically, this area was home to the famous “Gate of Persia.” When Alexander the Great led his eastern campaign, he encountered stubborn resistance from Persian forces here. In ancient times, such terrain was, militarily speaking, like a “natural fortress.” At mountain passes, only a small number of guards were needed to block an entire enemy force’s advance. In modern warfare, this area naturally suits air defense deployment, and the countless “folds” in the valleys create “radar blind spots” for aircraft, while also providing hiding places for small-scale ambush ground air-defense units. With only a few personnel equipped with ground-to-air weapons (such as portable shoulder-fired missiles, etc.) stationed here, they could pose a lethal threat to the entire air formation. The indigenous peoples of this mountainous region are mainly the Bakhtiaris and the Lurs; they are fierce and bold in temperament, very skilled at shooting, and people in the community hold firearms in large numbers.

Source of this article: Economic Daily News

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