Defenses Not 'Annihilated,' Iran Reportedly Downs Two US Planes

Al Jazeera has reported that a US Black Hawk helicopter was also hit with a projectile while taking part in the search mission and that it managed to leave Iranian airspace before landing safely.

Analysts have raised the possibility that the missing crew members if captured by Iranian forces could be used as bargaining chips in negotiations with Washington.

Iran has claimed responsibility for taking down the F-15 with anti-aircraft fire, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) semiofficial news agency Tasnim stating that it was destroyed.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) had denied Iran's previous boasts of having downed US jets – including one it claimed was shot down near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. But the US has not yet made similar denials about Friday's incidents and has confirmed that the F-15 was lost.

Trump claimed during a televised address to the nation on Wednesday that Iran“has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat,” thanks to a merciless five-week-long US bombing campaign.

He specifically said that Iran's air defenses had been totally eliminated:“They have no anti-aircraft equipment,” Trump said.“Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable.”

The previous week, he claimed Iranian leadership was ready to make a deal with the US because they“can't do a thing” to protect themselves from US aerial attacks. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken a similar line, lauding America's“air superiority.”

These claims were already brought into doubt by a report on Thursday by CNN that roughly half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact, and that the country still has about 50% of its drones according to internal US intelligence assessments. One source told the network that Iran was still“very much poised to wreak absolute havoc throughout the entire region.”

If it is confirmed that Iran was responsible for downing the American jets, it belies the claim that the country's capabilities have been destroyed.