The report has sharply raised the stakes for the United States because any surviving pilots could now be on the run inside Iran during an active conflict. Iranian officials urged civilians to watch for survivors, while the governor of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province said anyone who captured or killed the crew would receive special commendation, according to Iranian media reports.
Iran’s Fars news agency also reported that military forces had started a search operation to find the American pilot hit earlier in the day.
The report of the downed aircraft came as new strikes hit Israel, Iran, and Gulf countries. Large explosions rocked northern Tehran on Friday afternoon, according to an AFP journalist, although it was not immediately clear what had been struck. Earlier, Israel’s military said Iran had launched another missile salvo, prompting air defence activation.
BREAKING: An American fighter jet appears to have been shot down by Iran. A search and rescue is underway, a U.S. official said. https://t.co/gvXkshPKAj pic.twitter.com/JHknw6xpb6
— ABC News (@ABC) April 3, 2026At the same time, the conflict has increasingly expanded beyond direct military targets. Strikes from all sides have hit economic and industrial sites, fueling fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and broader damage to regional stability.
The war began more than a month ago after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered retaliation across the Middle East. Since then, the fighting has shaken the global economy and affected millions of people worldwide.
US President Donald Trump added to the tension by declaring on Truth Social that the US military had not yet finished destroying what remained in Iran and that bridges and electric power plants could come next. The statement came after the United States struck Iran’s tallest bridge.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Friday that about 70% of Iran’s steel production capacity had been affected, after Iran’s two largest steel plants reported that repeated US and Israeli air attacks had forced them out of action earlier in the week
