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Iran shot down two US military planes in separate attacks Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing, in a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago. It was the first time US aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the US has "beaten and completely decimated Iran" and was "going to finish the job, and we're going to finish it very fast." One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A US crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a US military search-and-rescue operation was underway. Neither the White House nor Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran. "No, not at all. No, it's war," he said. Separately, Iranian state media said a US.
Thousands of additional US troops are heading to the Middle East as the Trump administration has insisted that progress has been made in talks with Iran and has threatened to escalate the war if a deal is not reached soon. The aircraft carrier USS George H W Bush deployed Tuesday and is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division also have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other US officials, who, like the others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans. While the majority of those troops are part of a rotation of forces planned before the war, some are among roughly 1,500 paratroopers the Trump administration decided to surge into the region last week. The Trump administration has not said what those troops will be doing, but the 82nd Airborne is trained to parachute int
An Iranian missile attack Friday left at least 10 American service members wounded and damaged several planes at a military base in Saudi Arabia, according to two US officials familiar with the situation. Two of the troops were seriously wounded, one of the officials said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. The attack on Prince Sultan Air Base damaged several US refuelling aircraft, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. One of the officials said two of the troops were seriously wounded. Satellite imagery that appeared to show the damage to the aircraft was posted online. The attack, which involved an Iranian missile as well as unmanned drones, comes a day after President Donald Trump said Iran has been "obliterated" and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that "never in recorded history has a nation's military been so quickly and so effectively neutralised." US Central Comma
The American military has ordered 2,500 Marines and an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, a US official said Friday, in a major addition of forces in the region after nearly two weeks of war with Iran. Hours later, President Donald Trump said US forces had "obliterated" military targets on Iran's Kharg Island - the primary terminal that handles Iran's oil exports - and warned that the island's oil infrastructure there could be next. A day earlier, the speaker of the Iranian parliament warned that such a strike would provoke a new level of retaliation. Meanwhile in the Iranian capital, a large explosion rocked a central square where thousands were gathered for an annual state-organised rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel's demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran. There were no reports of casualties. But the decision to proceed with the mass demonstration attended by some senior government officials, and Israel's threat to .
The US military says a KC-135 refuelling aircraft supporting operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq and rescue operations are underway. The US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in "friendly airspace," and that the other plane landed safely. Here's what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth publicly acknowledged US aircraft to crash during the war against Iran: The KC-135 is a long-serving tanker plane =========================== The KC-135 Stratotanker is a US Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and maintain operations longer without landing. The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts. Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker has been in service for more than 60 years, supporting