Trump says Iran 'got lucky' with shooting down F-15, officials feared trap
President Donald Trump said Iranian forces "got lucky" when they shot down a F-15E Strike Eagle and that U.S. officials first suspected that communication from the aircraft's crew member who was stranded in Iran was a trap in an interview with Axios on Sunday, April 5.
Trump told the outlet that the U.S. had "beeping information" on a stranded crew member who was recovered on April 4. He added that officials feared that the crew member had been captured and that Iran had used a radio message to set the potential trap.
An unnamed defense official told Axios that the radio message from the weapons officer was "God is good," which Trump described as "something a Muslim would say." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, a noted Christian, used the phrase in an April 5 X post. Trump added that those who knew the officer said that he was religious and that it would make sense for him to say the phrase.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Defense for confirmation of the radio message.
Senator Dave McCormick, R, Pennsylvania, said on "Fox News Sunday" the rescued pilot had climbed about 7,000 feet up a mountain to reach an evacuation point, citing a conversation with a Trump administration official.
A U.S. official told Reuters the operation involved dozens of military aircraft and encountered fierce resistance from Iranian forces.
Iran said several U.S. aircraft were destroyed during the rescue operation, including two military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters. Footage posted on social media showed burned-out aircraft wreckage, which Reuters verified was in the area.
The Pentagon did not confirm or deny the reports when previously contacted by USA TODAY for comment.
Unnamed Israeli officials told Axios that the country's air force provided a strike to prevent Iranian forces from reaching the area. Trump called the country "good partners" in his interview with the outlet.
"They have been great and brave people. We are like a big brother and little brother," Trump said.
The F‑15E went down over Iran on April 3. One crew member was quickly recovered. The second crew member, which Trump described in a social media post as a "highly respected Colonel" sustained injuries and survived more than 24 hours after being shot down.
The trap Trump said officials feared would have been similar to double tap attacks − where an initial strike hits on an intended target and a larger second strike occurs on those who arrive on scene to respond or render aid − which Iran has accused the U.S. of engaging in during the war.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei alleged in a March 11 social media post that the strike on a girl's school in the early days of the war was a double tap, calling it an "egregious WAR CRIME." Al Jazeera reporter Tohid Asadi reported that an April 2 strike on a bridge linking Iran’s capital Tehran to the western city of Karaj was a double tap.
Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on April 5 that the United States will destroy all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if the government does not come to the negotiating table or reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump posted a profanity laced threat to social media the same day, giving Iran a Tuesday deadline.
Trump's Easter threat follows a threat to hit desalination plants, which some international law experts said could violate international humanitarian law.
Contributing: Reuters