The F-15 crash and subsequent search and rescue missions after two airmen ejected themselves from the aircraft as they took Iranian fire present questions for an administration that has touted the success of the war so far.

The rescue of two US pilots in Iran ranks among the most dramatic and high-risk operations of the current war. US President Donald Trump confirmed that Washington had, at one point, feared that at least one of the two may already have fallen into Iranian captivity.

President Donald Trump warned the Iranian regime a “whole civilization will die tonight” with less than 12 hours left until a deadline he has set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump had previously told the Iranian regime that it faced “complete destruction” of its civilian infrastructure if it didn’t accept his demands to lift an effective blockade on the vital waterway by 8 p.