US warplane downed over Iran, one crew rescued

Updated 7pm

A US warplane has gone down over Iran and US forces have rescued one of the crew, major US media outlets reported Friday after Iranian media aired footage of aircraft wreckage.

Axios and CBS News, citing unidentified sources, reported that one of the two crew on the plane had already been rescued by US special forces but that the search was ongoing for the second crew member.

According to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the plane was an F-15E fighter, which is crewed by a pilot and a weapons-systems officer in the back seat.

CNN also said that analysis of what Iranian media said were photos of the wreckage showed an F-15, rather than an F-35 stealth fighter, as claimed in some Iranian reports.

US media reported that President Donald Trump had been briefed on the situation.

However, there was no immediate on-the-record response from the White House or Pentagon to requests for comment.

US media reported that a search-and-rescue operation was underway by specialized US forces, following what would be the first known loss of a jet inside Iran since Trump ordered the war.

Photos and video circulating on social media and Iranian news outlets were cited by major US media outlets as showing US helicopters and other aircraft flying at low altitude over the presumed site of the downed fighter jet.

"Military forces have launched a search operation to find the American fighter pilot who was hit earlier today," Iran's Fars news agency said.

"Dear and honourable people of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, if you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police and military forces, you will receive a valuable reward and bonus," said an Iranian television reporter on the official local channel.

Ex-FM urges peace deal

Writing in the US journal Foreign Affairs, Iran's former top diplomat said that Tehran should make a deal with the United States to end the war by offering to curb its nuclear programme and reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tehran could "declare victory and make a deal that both ends this conflict and prevents the next one," wrote Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister from 2013 to 2021.

Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the war began, where in peace time one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas passes through. As a result, fuel prices have skyrocketed worldwide.

Of the few ships that have managed to cross, most have had links to Iran, with sixty percent of commodity-bearing ships crossing the strait either coming from Iran or heading there, an AFP analysis of maritime data showed.

In the first known transit by a major European shipping group since March 1, the Maltese-flagged Kribi, belonging to the French maritime transport group CMA CGM, crossed the strait to exit the Gulf on Thursday, according Marine Traffic data analysed by AFP.

Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned that in response to Trump's threats to attack infrastructure, Iran would increase its own attacks on energy sites in the region.

A drone attack on a refinery owned by Kuwait's national oil company on Friday sparked fires at several of its units, state media said.

Later, an Iranian attack damaged a power and desalination complex, Kuwait's water and electricity ministry said.

In Abu Dhabi, a gas complex shut after a fire broke out, following an attack the resulted in "falling debris" upon interception, the government media office said.

Trump wants bigger defence budget

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Friday it had struck more than 3,500 targets across Lebanon in the month since fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

It added that it would attack two bridges in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa region "in order to prevent the transfer of reinforcements and military equipment".

Lebanon's health ministry said on Thursday that 1,345 people had been killed and 4,040 wounded since the start of the war, including 1,129 men, 91 women and 125 children.

The ministry said the toll also included 53 healthcare workers.

Hezbollah has so far not announced its losses.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said a blast hit one of its positions and wounded three peacekeepers, the third such incident in a week.

A UNIFIL spokesperson said the origin of the explosion was unknown.

The war's economic impact is rippling far beyond the Middle East, as energy and oil costs surge.

Analysts said Trump's recent address to the nation failed to provide clarity on an exit strategy from the war.

Meanwhile, the White House on Friday sent a spending proposal to lawmakers calling for a massive hike to the US defence budget.

It remains to be seen what Congress will ultimately approve, but US media reported the $1.5 billion budget request -- a a 42 percent hike -- would be the largest year-on-year increase in Pentagon spending since World War II.

As energy costs skyrocket worldwide, Egypt has ordered shops, restaurants and shopping malls to close from 9:00 pm on weekdays.

Dozens participated in a protest in the Pakistani city of Lahore, calling on the government to reverse fuel price hikes.

"The government, overnight, has dropped a 'petrol bomb' on its people," Naveed Ahmed, a 39-year-old protestor, told AFP.