By Robert Inlakesh – Apr 8, 2026
Behind The Headlines – The F-15E rescue Iran operation, sold by the Trump administration as a ‘biblical’ triumph, stands exposed as one of the most costly and contradictory failures in modern military history. Not only did it set back the US taxpayer over $300 million dollars, Iran now claims that they foiled an attempt to seize the nation’s highly enriched uranium – explains geopolitical analyst Robert Inlakesh in this week’s MintPress Livestream.
A triumphant success of biblical proportions, was the way US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth described his nation’s mission to evacuate two fighter pilots, whose F-15E fighter jet was downed over Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.
“You see, shot down on a Friday —Good Friday — hidden in a cave — a crevice — all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn. All home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good”, stated Hegseth.
Yet, the narrative presented in Washington appears to be covered in holes. On April 1, US President Donald Trump delivered an address to the nation, during which he claimed that Iran “have no anti-aircraft equipment, their radars 100 percent annihilated, we are unstoppable as a military force”. Only days later, news broke that Iran had downed the F-15 fighter jet.
During the first day of the American search and rescue mission, which took place around 30 miles from the Persian Gulf coast, two UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters were damaged. An A-10 Warthog attack aircraft was also shot down, while another allegedly crash landed earlier around the time the F-15 was brought down.
The cost of an A-10 Wartog is said to be around $20 million, yet they are expensive to maintain parts for and some projections put their total estimated cost closer to $120 million. The UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters usually cost around $20 million, but can range up to $80 million for more advanced versions.
After reclaiming the first pilot, the second rescue mission proved even more costly. A total of two C-130 transport aircraft were destroyed, totalling at $100 Million each. It was reported that four MH-6 Little Bird Helicopters were destroyed also, costing around 4.5 million each, in addition to at least one MQ-9 Reaper Drone worth $56.5 million. What makes this more devastating for the US is that it happened at a remote airstrip in the southern Isfahan Province, some 250 miles away from the pilot rescue zone.
Beyond Rescue: The Hidden Objectives Behind the US Mission in Isfahan
The location where the mass destruction of US aircraft occurred was a cause for various critical questions. The US President attempted to explain the situation away by declaring that the US landed in seven different locations in order to distract the Iranian military.
Trump’s bid to dismiss the inconsistencies in the narrative only worked as a cause for even greater speculation, as he claimed that 155 aircraft were deployed for the second rescue mission. According to the Wall Street Journal, only 21 planes were used during the operation to extract the first pilot.
Tehran provided a counter claim that they had indeed foiled a separate plot by American special forces teams, asserting that the aircraft which were destroyed were in fact involved in an attempt to go after nearby nuclear facilities.
Iranian State-broadcaster PressTV then released an exclusive report, providing details on what reportedly transpired, stating that “the real objective was to infiltrate and attack one of Iran’s nuclear facilities in Isfahan” and Iran’s security forces had prepared an ambush for the invading soldiers:
“The Iranian Armed Forces, including the Army, Law Enforcement (Faraja), the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and local popular forces, initially did not show a serious reaction to the landing of the first C-130, which was carrying dozens of special forces commandos.”
The report then goes on to claim that “Evidence shows this aircraft veered somewhat off the runway while landing at the abandoned dirt airstrip. Minutes later, a second C-130 aircraft approached, carrying specialized vehicles, several MH-6 Little Bird helicopters, and other support equipment. At that moment, Iranian forces on the scene targeted the second aircraft before it could land, turning its normal landing into an emergency one. Two Black Hawk helicopters also arrived shortly after.”
It also details a clash having occurred between both sides, which turned the attempted landing, aimed at infiltrating a nearby nuclear facility, into an evacuation mission to save the special forces soldiers who were coming under Iranian fire.
Other inconsistencies appeared, like claims that the second airman was seriously injured, but still managed to trek countless miles through Iran’s mountainous terrain. It is unclear when this serious injury was inflicted and what condition the pilot is in today.
The official American account as to why they ended up losing such large transport aircraft in a location far away from the F-15 crash site, was that it was all part of the rescue mission and perhaps a distraction. They also claim that the C-130’s got “stuck in the mud”, thus had to be destroyed in order to prevent them falling into Iranian hands.
Robert Inlakesh
Documentary Filmmaker, Journalist, Writer and Political Analyst. Inlakesh regularly contributes to Al Mayadeen.
