A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle on 16 July 2020.<\/p>\n
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images<\/p>\n
The U.S. was searching for the crew of an American fighter jet Friday after it was downed in Iran, a U.S. official told MS NOW<\/a>. <\/p>\n It isn’t clear if the plane was shot down or went down for another reason, MS NOW said. The jet was an F-15, which has two crew members, and the whereabouts of the servicemembers was unknown, according to MS NOW.<\/p>\n The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command didn’t immediately comment. <\/p>\n The New York Times said Iran shot down the fighter jet, citing U.S. and Israeli officials and Iranian state media, though MS NOW said it hadn’t independently verified the reporting.<\/p>\n It appeared to be the first known loss of a U.S. jet in the country since the war in Iran started in late February.<\/p>\n The downing of the jet comes at a delicate time, when the U.S. has showed few signs of slowing its assault on Iran and reports of potential peace talks did not yield a breakthrough. The war has now gone on for more than a month, suffocating tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and threatening supplies of crude oil, fertilizer and other key commodities.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> claimed in a social media post Friday that the U.S. could “easily” open the strait, “TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”<\/p>\n Trump also threatened late Thursday to escalate attacks on Iranian infrastructure.<\/a> He said the U.S. “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” citing bridges and electric power plants.<\/p>\n In remarks Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. would attack Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”<\/p>\n