US rescues missing Iran pilot
Retired Navy Capt. Brent Sadler joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss the training and evacuation process for the two US airmen who were in an F-15E that crashed inside Iran.
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A former Pentagon official said the rescue of the American pilot in Iran was more than just a rescue mission, saying it was a warning to Tehran that the United States could enter anywhere in Iranian territory to carry out operations ranging from rescue to finding critical targets.
“This shows the Iranian leadership that we can go anywhere we choose and stick as long as we want to accomplish a mission,” Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain, said on “Fox & Friends Weekend” Sunday.
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An IF-15E Strike Eagle conducts a sortie in support of Operation Epic Fury during the war in Iran at an undisclosed location on March 16, 2026. (US Air Force/Reuters)
“We don’t just rescue our pilots, but we can also go where we need to protect nuclear equipment or what’s left of their leadership.”
Sadler’s comments come after the rescue of a US Air Force (WSO) weapons officer early Sunday morning local time after hiding for 36 hours.
The pilot and WSO were ejected from the F-15E fighter jet when it crashed over Iran on Friday. The pilot was rescued that morning.
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Heavy smoke rises over Tehran after a reported explosion in the city overnight March 28, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)
Sadler said there were reports that intelligence agencies and special forces from various branches of the military were involved in the operation, and that US regional partners were also involved.
“Our Gulf partners would have to give some permission for the plane to fly. They wouldn’t know what it was, and, of course, the Israelis, I think [were] is deeply integrated into this, to remove their targets and their attacks to draw the Iranians away or keep them busy as we focus on finding and extracting our pilot. “
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Sadler added that the daring operation ended any hopes Iran had of using the downed plane for “political purposes” or halting US military operations and said a successful rescue operation should underscore the seriousness of President Donald Trump’s Monday deadline for Iran’s leaders to return to the negotiating table.
“Despite the hunt and successful extraction of our pilot, operations and attacks have continued, which means that President Trump’s deadline is very critical and the Tehran regime better take it as such, because there is more to come if not.”
CJ Womack of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
