The US Air Force colonel who was shot down over Iran and rescued after 36 hours had sent a suspicious three-word message that sparked fears US officials were being lured into a trap.
After the seriously wounded weapons officer, who has yet to be publicly identified, climbed a 7,000-foot ridge and hid in a crevice for safety, he submitted a short, unusual message over the radio — “God is good,” a US defense official told Axios.
President Trump and his team initially feared that the signal could be a ruse to lure more American soldiers into a dangerous situation.
“What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,” Trump told Axios, referencing the Islamic phrase “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.”
Despite the worries, US military and intelligence officials were able to confirm the officer’s location and status along the Zagros Mountain range, launching the rescue operation early Sunday.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would go on to post the same phrase, “God is good,” on X after the colonel was rescued.
The US hailed the rescue efforts and commended the weapons officer, who was able to climb more than 1.3 miles and avoid detection by nearby Iranian fighters spurred by the chance to capture an American soldier and the $60,000 bounty placed on his head, the New York Times reported.
The colonel and his pilot, who was rescued just hours after their F-15E jet was shot down on Friday, are both in stable condition, Trump told reporters on Monday.
“They are both recovering very well. They were both injured, and they’re doing well,” he said.
The complex operation to rescue the colonel involved 100 special operations forces, led by SEAL Team 6, with Delta Force commandos and Army Rangers on standby, according to the Times.
The CIA reportedly assisted in pulling off a diversionary tactic that saw the US plant fake intel that the soldier had already been rescued and was being driven out of Iran, paving the way for the actual retrieval mission.
