Iranian state media urged civilians on Friday to help capture American aircrew after Tehran claimed it had shot down a US military aircraft over southern Iran, while Britain announced the deployment of air-defence systems to Kuwait following an Iranian attack on a major oil refinery.
A state-affiliated broadcaster in Kohgilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province told residents they would receive a “valuable reward” if they captured an “enemy pilot” alive and handed them to police or the military, according to reports carried by the Associated Press. An on-screen message urged viewers to “shoot them if you see them”.
Iranian outlets including Tasnim and Mehr later said at least one crew member had ejected and was likely in Iranian custody. Those claims had not been independently verified by Friday afternoon, and the Pentagon, the White House and US Central Command had not publicly confirmed the loss of any aircraft or the status of any crew.
Axios reported, citing Iranian media and a source familiar with the matter, that a search-and-rescue operation was under way for two missing aircrew. That account could not immediately be independently confirmed.
The type of aircraft involved remained disputed. Iran initially said it had brought down a second US F-35 over central Iran, repeating a claim it has made before during the conflict. But photographs and video circulated by Iranian outlets appeared to suggest a different aircraft.
Aviation analysts reviewing the imagery said the wreckage looked more consistent with an F-15E Strike Eagle than an F-35. They pointed to an “LN” tail code, a US Air Forces in Europe badge and a red tail flash associated with the 494th Fighter Squadron based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
The distinction is significant. The F-35 is a single-seat aircraft, while the F-15E carries two aircrew, which would fit Iranian broadcasts referring to more than one pilot. Iranian media also published images said to show metal fragments and an ejection seat, although the material had not been fully authenticated.
Analysts urged caution over the images, noting that Iranian state-linked channels have repeatedly circulated mislabelled, altered or AI-generated material since the war began. US officials have previously rejected other Iranian claims that American jets had been shot down over Iran or near the Strait of Hormuz.
Tasnim said US forces had tried to recover the aircrew before at least one pilot was “likely captured” by Iranian forces. Iranian reports also said armed tribesmen and villagers were searching rural areas with personal weapons. There was no independent confirmation that US rescue aircraft or special forces had entered Iranian territory.
If the loss is confirmed, it would appear to be the first hostile shoot-down of a US fast jet in the current war. Three American F-15E aircraft were previously destroyed in a Kuwaiti friendly-fire incident on 1 March, and Washington has separately confirmed that an F-35A was hit by Iranian ground fire on 19 March and forced to make an emergency landing at a regional base.
The latest claims emerged as the conflict widened across the Gulf. Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer had spoken to Kuwait’s Crown Prince after what No 10 described as a “reckless overnight drone attack” on the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery and a desalination plant.
The Prime Minister’s office said Britain would deploy its Rapid Sentry air-defence system to Kuwait to help protect British and Kuwaiti interests and personnel. Downing Street said Starmer had told the Crown Prince that the UK “stands with Kuwait and all our allies in the Gulf”. British officials said the system, designed to counter drones and other low-flying threats, would reinforce regional defences without escalating the wider conflict.
Footage from Israel on Friday also showed the aftermath of an Iranian missile strike in Petah Tikva. Israeli media reported a large crater and damage to buildings between a residential neighbourhood and an industrial area, with no immediate reports of injuries from that strike.
The wider effects of the conflict were also being felt beyond the battlefield. Catholic churches in Dubai said all Masses had been cancelled until further notice, including Easter services, following government safety directives linked to the war. In Bangladesh, authorities cut office and shopping hours and extended a ban on decorative lighting to weddings as they sought to conserve energy amid fears of disrupted Middle East fuel supplies.
The latest escalation comes as US and Israeli forces continue a campaign launched on 28 February against Iranian military, missile and nuclear-linked targets, and as Iran presses retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israel, Gulf energy facilities and US-linked assets across the region.