TEHRAN, Iran — The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Monday, April 6, 2026, that a recent United States military operation, reportedly conducted to save a downed pilot, might have actually been a secret attempt to illegally remove enriched uranium from the country. This allegation follows a period of heightened tension between the two nations after an American F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet crashed within Iranian borders on Friday, April 3, 2026.
United States President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, April 5, 2026, that American forces had successfully recovered a second crew member from the crashed aircraft. The President described the mission as a daring search and rescue effort. However, the military of the Islamic Republic of Iran has countered this narrative, labeling the event as a failed mission of deception and escape that was completely stopped by Iranian forces.
During a press briefing held in Tehran on Monday, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, raised several concerns regarding the American account of the mission. He noted that there were many questions and uncertainties surrounding the operation. Baqaei highlighted a significant geographical discrepancy in the United States report, pointing out that the location in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province in southwestern Iran, where the pilot was allegedly found, is a great distance from the central Iranian region where United States forces actually attempted to land.
Baqaei stated, “The possibility that this was a deception operation to steal enriched uranium should not be ignored at all.” He further characterized the military engagement as a disaster for the United States government. Okay News reports that the Iranian military claimed several American aircraft were forced to make emergency landings in the southern Isfahan Province after sustaining damage during the mission. Iranian officials further alleged that the United States was forced to destroy its own damaged aircraft through heavy bombardment to prevent them from being captured.
