Downed planes spell new peril for Trump

Iran's forces were hunting on Saturday for a missing U.S. pilot from one of two warplanes downed over Iran and the Gulf, officials from both sides said, while two airmen were rescued.



The incidents show the risks still facing U.S. and Israeli aircraft over Iran as the war entered its sixth week, despite assertions by President Donald Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that U.S. forces had total control of the skies.



The prospect of a U.S. service person alive and on the run in Iran raises the stakes for Washington in a conflict with low public support among Americans and no sign of an imminent end.



Iranian fire brought down a two-seat U.S. F-15E jet, officials in both countries said, while two U.S. officials said the pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft that crashed in Kuwait after being hit by Iranian fire.



Two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in the search for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two U.S. officials told Reuters.



The scale of injuries to the crew was unclear.