{"id":43397,"date":"2026-04-07T02:22:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=43397"},"modified":"2026-04-07T02:22:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T02:22:59","slug":"trump-ratcliffe-detail-cia-subterfuge-mission-saving-u-s-airman-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=43397","title":{"rendered":"Trump, Ratcliffe Detail CIA Subterfuge Mission Saving U.S. Airman in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"subheading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">President Donald Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Monday detailed a high-risk rescue deep inside Iran in which U.S. forces \u2014 aided by a CIA-led \u201cdeception campaign\u201d \u2014 raced \u201cagainst the clock\u201d to locate and recover a wounded airman concealed in a mountain crevice, \u201cinvisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA,\u201d after his F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down, while evading capture for nearly two days behind enemy lines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"a9d-pre\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking at a White House news conference following the successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2026\/04\/05\/behind-enemy-lines-u-s-executes-challenging-complex-missions-special-ops-history\/\">rescue<\/a> of both the F-15E pilot and his weapons systems officer (WSO), who ejected over Iran after their aircraft was downed Friday morning, Trump described the mission as \u201cone of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. history,\u201d emphasizing that the operation\u2019s success \u201cinvolved a lot of subterfuge\u201d as U.S. forces deliberately misled Iranian units searching for the wounded airman across mountainous terrain.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a9d\"\/>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a9d\"\/>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump said the deception effort included coordinated activity across multiple locations to confuse Iranian forces, explaining, \u201cWe had seven different locations where they thought he was, and they were very confused,\u201d adding that planners intentionally created the impression the airman was elsewhere while the real recovery operation was underway.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/t\/assets\/html\/tweet-5.html#2041204287125012558\" data-btlnk=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2041204287125012558\" class=\"bnn-if-tweet\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also pointed to the scale of the operation, describing a large, coordinated force involving scores of aircraft and special operations personnel operating across multiple axes to execute both the deception effort and the recovery missions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump credited Director Ratcliffe and the CIA with playing a decisive role in locating the airman, describing the intelligence effort as central to the mission\u2019s success.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"a9d-pre\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ratcliffe described the effort as a \u201crace against the clock,\u201d explaining that CIA officers were tasked with identifying a single individual across vast, hostile terrain based on limited and intermittent signals that initially raised concerns about possible enemy deception.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a9d\"\/>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a9d\"\/>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/t\/assets\/html\/tweet-5.html#2041209561403523237\" data-btlnk=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2041209561403523237\" class=\"bnn-if-tweet\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt was comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert,\u201d Ratcliffe said, detailing how analysts worked to authenticate transmissions while Iranian forces and civilians were actively closing in on the area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said the Agency leveraged what he described as \u201chuman assets and exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service in the world possesses\u201d to verify the airman\u2019s identity and ultimately pinpoint his location.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ratcliffe added that the airman remained \u201cconcealed in a mountain crevice \u2026 invisible to the enemy, but not to the CIA,\u201d underscoring the precision of the intelligence effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, he confirmed the CIA executed a deception campaign designed to misdirect Iranian search efforts \u2014 pushing false signals and narratives that diverted enemy forces away from the airman\u2019s actual position as U.S. military planners prepared the extraction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once the location was confirmed, the operation rapidly transitioned into execution, with War Secretary Pete Hegseth describing the mission as a \u201chigh-risk, high-stakes\u201d operation conducted \u201cdeep inside enemy territory in Iran.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"a9d-pre\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThese are not routine operations,\u201d Hegseth said, describing how U.S. forces synchronized air, ground, and special operations capabilities while employing deception and conducting strikes to suppress Iranian threats converging on the area.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a9d adSo\"\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hegseth highlighted the wounded WSO\u2019s ability to survive and evade as critical to the mission, detailing how the airman relied on his training to move away from the crash site, gain elevation, and avoid capture for nearly 48 hours while \u201cscaling rugged ridges\u201d as enemy forces closed in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/t\/assets\/html\/tweet-5.html#2041211846913401260\" data-btlnk=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOWResponse\/status\/2041211846913401260\" class=\"bnn-if-tweet\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hegseth said the airman ultimately activated his emergency transponder and transmitted the message, \u201cGod is good,\u201d which helped confirm he was alive \u2014 though officials initially worked to verify the signal\u2019s authenticity given the risk of enemy interference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He further detailed the intensity of the operation, noting that U.S. forces conducted extended-duration flights \u2014 including roughly seven-hour missions over Iranian territory \u2014 while maintaining continuous coordination from a secure command center for more than 45 hours as planners tracked and executed both recovery efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, who also spoke at the briefing, described the effort as a \u201cno-fail mission\u201d from the outset, requiring uninterrupted coordination from the moment the aircraft was shot down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/t\/assets\/html\/tweet-5.html#2041227957679620231\" data-btlnk=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Osint613\/status\/2041227957679620231\" class=\"bnn-if-tweet\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hegseth underscored that point, stating, \u201cThe call never dropped. The meeting never stopped. The planning never ceased,\u201d describing the sustained command effort behind the operation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"a9d-pre\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first recovery, of the F-15E pilot, was carried out within hours of the shootdown in what officials described as an audacious daylight operation, with U.S. aircraft operating over Iranian territory under fire to retrieve him.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a9d adSo\"\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second recovery, involving the wounded WSO, proved significantly more complex as he moved to higher ground, concealed himself in mountainous terrain, and remained hidden while Iranian forces converged on his location.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enabled in large part by CIA intelligence and deception efforts, U.S. special operations forces ultimately executed a nighttime extraction, inserting into the rugged terrain and recovering the airman before evacuating him from Iranian territory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the operation, U.S. forces established forward staging positions and deployed rotary-wing aircraft brought in for the mission, while strike and surveillance assets worked to secure the extraction corridor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite complications during the final phase \u2014 including aircraft issues that required contingency procedures \u2014 all U.S. personnel were successfully recovered, and no American fatalities were reported.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hegseth said the operation left Iran\u2019s military \u201cembarrassed and humiliated,\u201d adding, \u201cThe Iranians are still asking themselves \u2026 how did the Americans do this?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/t\/assets\/html\/tweet-5.html#2041219581784568169\" data-btlnk=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Osint613\/status\/2041219581784568169\" class=\"bnn-if-tweet\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"260\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump echoed that assessment, saying the mission demonstrated that \u201cwe leave no American behind,\u201d while noting the risks involved and the potential for significantly higher casualties without precise execution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rescue unfolded over the weekend as part of the broader U.S. campaign against Iran under Operation Epic Fury, which on Monday entered its 38th day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond the battlefield, the CIA\u2019s central role in the operation reflects a broader shift under Ratcliffe\u2019s leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Breitbart News <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2026\/01\/26\/exclusive-trumps-quiet-hammer-cia-director-john-ratcliffe-revitalized-spy-agency\/\">reported<\/a> in a January profile, Ratcliffe has emerged as President Trump\u2019s \u201cquiet hammer,\u201d reshaping the Agency into a more aggressive, mission-focused organization aligned with the administration\u2019s national security priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cUnder Director John Ratcliffe, CIA is back to focusing on mission and is executing on President Trump\u2019s national security priorities,\u201d CIA Director of Public Affairs Liz Lyons told Breitbart News at the time, describing an Agency \u201cwilling to take risks to give the United States a decisive advantage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That approach was on full display in the operation detailed Monday, where intelligence, deception, and military force were tightly integrated to locate, protect, and extract an American service member from deep inside hostile territory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump framed the outcome as both a tactical success and a broader message, declaring that U.S. forces will \u201cgo anywhere, anytime\u201d to protect American personnel and complete the mission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter\u00a0<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshuaKlein_\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">@JoshuaKlein<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2026\/04\/06\/trump-ratcliffe-detail-cia-subterfuge-mission-saved-u-s-airman-iran\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Monday detailed a high-risk rescue deep inside Iran in which U.S. forces \u2014 aided by a CIA-led&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}