Danielle Pena
158 posts
@daniellepena
Global Government Affairs. Health and technology.
🚨🚨🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷U.S. special forces rescued the second crew member of the F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran, three U.S. officials told me. My story on @axios axios.com/2026/04/05/ira…
Tonight’s operation in Southern Iran which resulted in the successful rescue of a Weapons System Officer (WSO) onboard an American F-15E Strike Eagle downed Friday over Iran, involved hundreds of special forces troops and other military personnel, including members of the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, dozens of fighter and strike aircraft, helicopters, and cyber, space and other intelligence capabilities, officials tell The New York Times. Senior military officials described the mission to rescue the airman as “one of the most challenging and complex in the history of U.S. Special Operations” given the mountainous terrain, the airman’s injuries and Iranian forces rushing to the location in the mountains of Southern Iran. The WSO evaded Iranian forces for more than 24 hours, at one point hiking up a 7,000ft ridgeline, a senior U.S. military official said. U.S. attack aircraft dropped bombs and opened fire on Iranian convoys to keep them away from the area where the airman was hiding. As U.S. Special Forces converged on the downed airman, they fired their weapons to keep Iranian forces away from the rescue site, but did not engage in a firefight with the Iranians. In a final twist after the officer was rescued, two transport planes that would carry the commandos and the airmen to safety got stuck at a remote base in Iran. Commanders decided to fly in three new planes to extract all the U.S. military personnel and the airman, and they blew up the two disabled planes rather than have them fall into the hands of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
@TheNatureBoyIV Are you able to say what these aircraft are. There seem to be at least 3 of them
Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States. Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the "Great Satan." This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter's legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States. The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.
Trump on pulling out of NATO: "I don't need Congress for that decision"
