My colleague Bob Hoge reported earlier on the rescue of the second crew member of the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet that had been shot down in Iran on Friday.
We sent forces deep into Iranian territory to rescue the weapons systems officer (WSO), as the regime was searching feverishly.
The WSO used the SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training to evade capture, hiding on an elevated ridge after hiking away from the wreckage and putting out an emergency beacon.) US Special Operations rescue forces to include PJs (United States Air Force Pararescuemen (PJs) and many layers of elite rescue forces took part in the complex, layered mission to both find the crew member and also keep the Iranian forces who were hunting the American weapons system operator at bay.
READ MORE: 'WE GOT HIM!' President Trump Responds As Second Airman Is Rescued From Enemy Territory in Iran
Meanwhile in Washington, President Donald Trump was monitoring the situation from the White House, receiving updates on the mission.
As American special operations forces converged on the mountainside where the officer had been hiding, US planes conducted strikes in the area to ensure Iranian forces were not able to get there first. Trump was watching along from the Situation Room.
At a remote airstrip in Iran, two MC-130J special operations transport aircraft had been waiting to take the commandos and the rescued airmen out of the country. But they had become damaged at some point during the operation.
The military decided to send in new planes and blow the damaged ones up rather than take the risk of them falling into Iranian hands.
Then the members of the rescue team secured him, and they all made it out of Iran. As President Donald Trump explained, he was wounded, but he rejoiced, "WE GOT HIM!" He declared we would never leave a warrior behind.
It sounds like the thing movies are made of, shot down on Friday, and rescued for Easter. You can't help but think of the bravery and skill of the officer and everyone involved in pulling off such a thing.
Iranians were trying to sell some serious coping in the meantime. Iranian official Saeed Jalili is a hardliner member of the "Expediency Discernment Council," and was a former nuclear negotiator. He ran for president in 2024, but lost to Masoud Pezeshkian. Here's his hot take, which says everything about the difference between the Iranian regime and America.
In Iran, we have a well-known proverb about making a bad situation worse:
— Saeed Jalili | سعید جلیلی (@DrSaeedJalili) April 5, 2026
“He set out to fix his eyebrow, but ended up blinding his eye.”
The U.S. President sought to restore America’s lost prestige after the destruction of his fighter jet;
but in doing so, he also lost several…
In Iran, we have a well-known proverb about making a bad situation worse: “He set out to fix his eyebrow, but ended up blinding his eye.” The U.S. President sought to restore America’s lost prestige after the destruction of his fighter jet; but in doing so, he also lost several aircraft, helicopters, and his forces.
No, we lost zero forces because we got everyone out alive. Because, unlike Iran, we value life; equipment can be replaced. That one life is more important to us.
The Iranian regime doesn't care about its people; it only cares about holding onto power. If it cared about its people, it wouldn't have killed thousands of protesters in January. It wouldn't oppress its women and punish them for letting hair show from under their hijab. It wouldn't be recruiting children as young as 12 to use for "war support," using them to supplement the Basij forces, and putting them in such danger. It wouldn't be spending all their money propping up terror proxies; they'd be making a deal to help their people, rather than trying to hold out to save the regime as we continue to destroy their military.
READ MORE: Iran's Despicable Move to Recruit Children for 'War Support' Shows Just How Desperate They Are
What Jalili doesn't want to mention is how incredibly bad this looks for Iran. We sent a ton of forces deep into their territory. And not only weren't they able to stop us, but we effectively got all our forces out, likely taking out some of theirs in the process. That shows our ability and strength, as well as how much they have lost at this point in terms of their ability to defend themselves. He doesn't even mention the lives of his forces that were likely lost — they don't matter to him; he's concentrated on pushing the cope and propaganda.
That's a powerful lesson on Easter about the importance of life and how different we are.
