Washington, 5 April 2026 (dpa/MIA) - The second crew member of a US F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran is "safe and sound" after he was rescued by the military, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social early Sunday.

"He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine," Trump said, describing the mission to retrieve the service member as "one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History."

A US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, the first US aircraft lost since the start of the war on February 28.

The incident sparked major concern in Washington that Iranian forces might get to the two crew members first and use them as leverage in negotiations to end the fighting.

Trump confirmed that the aircraft's pilot had been rescued earlier, noting the US had initially not disclosed this to avoid jeopardizing the second rescue operation.

According to media reports, US special forces were deployed to southern Iran to prevent the capture of the second crew member, a weapon systems officer.

Trump said the US military had used "dozens of aircraft, armed with the most lethal weapons in the World, to retrieve him."

"This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour," Trump said.

He said the officer "was never truly alone" as the military had been "monitoring his location 24 hours a day."

Citing current and former US officials familiar with the operation, the New York Times reported that "hundreds of special operations troops" were involved in a "two-day effort" to rescue the injured airman.

He was eventually retrieved on Saturday night following "a life-or-death race between US and Iranian forces," the New York Times reported.

Citing an unnamed US government official, Al Jazeera said the officer had been rescued after a "heavy firefight."

According to the New York Times, the service member has been airlifted to Kuwait for treatment.

Two transport aircraft initially due to fly out the man and the special forces got stuck in Iran, according to a US military official cited by the paper.

This led to the deployment of three replacement aircraft to retrieve the troops. The two aircraft they left behind were destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iran's hands, according to the official.

Video footage shows Iranian forces firing at US helicopters in an attempt to obstruct the rescue efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Laurel Rapp, director of the US and North America programme at Chatham House, had told the BBC that if Iran were to find the crew member first, it would represent a "huge prize" for Tehran and give it significant leverage in negotiations to end the war launched by the US and Israel on February 28.

Iranian media reported that large sums of up to $100,000 had been offered as reward for the soldier's capture.

Following the heavy bombardment of Iranian military infrastructure, the Trump administration has repeatedly suggested that US aircraft are no longer at risk of being attacked in Iranian airspace.

Announcing the second service member's rescue on Sunday, Trump repeated that claim.

"The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies," he wrote.

It comes after Trump renewed his threat of a major assault against Iranian power stations on Saturday if Tehran fails to agree to a peace deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Trump has repeatedly issued - and delayed - an ultimatum for the key waterway to be reopened, as Iranian threats to attack commercial shipping have disrupted global oil and gas deliveries and dealt a blow to markets.

Last week, he postponed the ultimatum until April 6, after claiming productive talks were being held with Iran.

However, Tehran has denied reports of talks, with severe attacks continuing across the Middle East on Sunday.

Kuwait came under renewed Iranian attack, with drones striking government and energy facilities, authorities said.

Iran has been launching missiles and drones at Kuwait and other Gulf states hosting US military forces since the start of the war over five weeks ago, while also targeting Israel.

A new barrage of missiles was launched at the country from Iran overnight, with a rocket striking an uninhabited area in southern Israel, the military was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel. No injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that it had struck more than 120 air defence and missile systems in central and western Iran over the past 24 hours.