Search for the Pilot Continues: Iran Offers $ Bounty - Trump Threatens

Downed US warplanes and a missing pilot have turned Washington’s air war over Iran into a high-stakes crisis for U.S. president Donald Trump. The U.S. military launched a search over southwestern Iran after an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down, with one crew member rescued and another missing.

The incident marks the first confirmed loss of U.S. aircraft over Iranian territory in a war now in its sixth week, which began on February 28.

Iran also claimed an A-10 Thunderbolt II was hit, though a U.S. official said the cause of the crash remained unclear.

Iranian state media urged civilians to hand over any “enemy pilot,” while authorities searched mountainous terrain in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.

The Pentagon acknowledged “an aircraft being shot down” but released limited details, underscoring operational sensitivity. Trump said in an NBC interview the incident would not affect negotiations.

The conflict continues to widen geographically. An Iranian drone damaged the Dubai headquarters of Oracle, while earlier strikes hit Amazon Web Services facilities in the UAE and Bahrain.

At Iran’s Bushehr nuclear facility, an airstrike killed 1 security guard and marked the fourth strike on the site during the war.

In Dubai, officials described the Oracle damage as a “minor incident” caused by debris, with no injuries reported.

Iran signaled potential disruption of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a 32 km-wide corridor through which over 10 percent of global oil and a quarter of container shipping passes.

The Strait of Hormuz has already seen reduced flows, contributing to rising fuel prices and market volatility. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf questioned global reliance on the route, highlighting its strategic leverage.

The war has killed more than 1,900 people in Iran, alongside 13 U.S. service members, 19 in Israel, and over 1,300 in Lebanon, where more than 1 million have been displaced.

Despite escalation, Iran signaled openness to talks, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stating they “have never refused to go to Islamabad.”

Mediators from Pakistan, Türkiye, and Egypt are working toward a ceasefire framework, including a temporary halt in hostilities.