An operation is underway to find and rescue the other crew member from the downed F-15E, according to American media. Iran's state-affiliated IRNA news agency reported that Iran's top joint military command credits new Iranian air defense systems with downing two US warplanes on Friday. Iran claims to have shot down two US warplanes: an F-15E over southwest Iran and an A-10 Warthog involved in a rescue mission. Iranian state media shows images of wreckage parts of one of the US's most advanced planes, according to Aftonbladet. The deputy governor of Iran’s southern Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad province says search operations for the missing pilot of the downed F-15 are continuing with full force despite extensive US efforts.
This incident occurs within a broader conflict that began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched a sustained military attack on Tehran and other Iranian cities, according to multiple reports. Those large-scale strikes killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several high-ranking members of the clerical regime, research indicates. Tehran’s Assembly of Experts appointed Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, to succeed him on 8 March, according to research. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Mojtaba Khamenei was injured and 'likely disfigured', a claim denied by Iran.
The human toll of the conflict is severe but figures vary. More than 1,800 people have been killed so far in the conflict, according to research. However, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) reported 3,220 people killed in Iran as of 20 March, including 1,165 military personnel and 1,398 civilians.
Civilian infrastructure has been heavily impacted, with a controversial strike on a school in Minab, Iran, killing an estimated 175 people, most of them children, according to research. Iran accused the US and Israel of launching an attack on a girls’ school near an IRGC base in southern Iran on 28 February, saying 168 people were killed, including around 110 children. Expert video analysis by BBC Verify shows a US Tomahawk missile hit a military base near the school.
US President Donald Trump declared that the aim of the attack on Iran was regime change in Tehran. However, Trump has issued conflicting statements on U.S. military objectives and the trajectory of the conflict, research indicates.
Strategically, the US and Israel have targeted key sites linked to Iran’s nuclear programme, according to research. Washington’s stated goals include degrading Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missiles, navy, drones, and control of its terror proxies, research indicates. A growing range of key Iranian industries are being targeted by US-Israeli strikes, including steel plants, cement factories and petrochemical complexes, according to research.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles and armed drones against Israel and US military facilities in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, research shows. Iranian missiles caused serious damage in Israel, killing and injuring scores of people, according to research. Iran also struck civilian infrastructure in the Gulf, including ports and airports, research indicates.
The conflict has triggered a global energy shock due to Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to research. India has purchased oil from Iran for the first time in years, according to India's oil and natural gas ministry. Trump said Tehran has 48 hours to make a deal on the Strait of Hormuz or he’ll unleash 'all Hell'. Iran has said it will grant permission for vessels carrying 'essential goods' through the strait but has not provided specific terms.
Naval engagements have been intense, with an Iranian warship sunk by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka on 4 March, killing at least 87 people, according to research. The United States is well on its way to achieving its objectives, with more than fifty Iranian naval vessels resting on the sea floor, research indicates.
Civilian infrastructure damage extends widely, with U.S. and Israeli attacks striking schools, medical facilities, residential areas, and a water desalination plant, research shows. An attack killed one person at the perimeter of an Iranian nuclear power plant, according to state media. Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company said nearly 200 of its staff members have evacuated the facility. Iran’s science minister said more than 30 of the country’s universities have faced 'direct attacks' during the war. A border crossing connecting Iraq with Iran has been targeted in an airstrike, killing one Iraqi civilian, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
From Israel's perspective, as of 19 March, Israeli authorities said 15 civilians had been killed by missile fire since the start of the war. Israel almost certainly has set as a strategic objective the collapse of the Iranian regime, research indicates.
US military tactics have involved challenges, with the United States and Israel tending to avoid flying over Iranian airspace to avoid antiaircraft fire, according to research. The US and Israel prefer to fire missiles from jets hovering in neighboring air spaces, research indicates. Two days into the war, the US lost more air assets than since the Vietnam War fifty years ago, according to research.
Previous incidents include three US F-15 fighter jets downed over Kuwait in an apparent friendly fire incident in early March, according to US Central Command (CentCom). All six crew members of the three F-15s downed over Kuwait were able to safely eject, research shows. All six crew members of a US military refueling aircraft were killed in an incident involving a second aircraft on March 12 in western Iraq, CentCom reported.
Reactions and implications are mounting, with Iran receiving MiG-29 Su-35 fighter jets and Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters from Russia, according to research. Susan M. Akram, a professor at Boston University and ACW Non-resident Fellow, stated that the US-Israeli attacks on Iran cannot be legally justified under any theory of the laws of war. The war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran has been characterized by multiple strikes on civilian sites and infrastructure by all sides, often with flagrant disregard for civilian safety, research indicates. All such sites are protected under international humanitarian law (IHL), raising the serious prospect that these strikes could constitute war crimes, according to research.
US military leadership has seen changes, with Secretary Pete Hegseth closing the Pentagon office tasked with avoiding civilian harm and firing the leadership of the JAG corps since taking office, research shows. Since the war began, Secretary Hegseth has repeatedly boasted about applying more lax rules of engagement, according to research.
Key unknowns remain, including the current status and location of the second crew member from the downed F-15E over Iran. It is unclear what specific terms Iran is setting for allowing 'essential goods' through the Strait of Hormuz. The exact extent of damage to Iran's nuclear program from the US-Israeli strikes has not been confirmed. The total number of US air assets lost since the conflict began is unknown, and the full humanitarian impact, including displacement numbers and aid access, in affected regions remains to be assessed.