The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played a decisive role in providing intelligence during the operation to rescue an F-15E fighter pilot who was shot down in Iran and isolated for about 36 hours.
According to major foreign media on the 5th (local time), the weapons systems officer (WSO) colonel seated in the rear seat of the F-15E ejected immediately after being hit on the 3rd and was left alone in rugged Iranian mountains. The officer had a position signaling device capable of encrypted communications with the U.S. military command and secure communications equipment, but had been trained not to constantly transmit signals that could expose the location to the enemy.
The U.S. military faced a situation in which it had to determine the officer's location on its own and, while drawing up a rescue plan, the CIA also began an operation to pinpoint the location. After the CIA precisely determined the pilot's position, the U.S. military was able to find and rescue the officer before Iran did. CNN said, "Ultimately, it was the CIA that identified the officer's exact location and provided the information to the military."
The CIA carried out a "deception operation" in the process. The agency spread false information locally that "the U.S. military officer has already been rescued and is moving out of the country by vehicle," inducing Iranian authorities to shift their search toward roads leading to a neighboring country instead of the mountainous area where the pilot was believed to be. According to the New York Times (NYT), a senior U.S. government official said the operation caused confusion and uncertainty among Iranian forces tracking the missing pilot.
Two other anonymous government officials told the political outlet Politico that the deception operation bought the CIA time to determine the downed pilot's location and pass it to the White House and the Ministry of National Defense.
The CIA also used special equipment to pinpoint the pilot's exact location and provide it to the Ministry of National Defense and the White House. The NYT reported that although it was not disclosed what technology the CIA used, the equipment was likely the CIA's own asset. The BBC also reported that the CIA tracked the airman's position down to mountain canyon units and relayed it to the Ministry of National Defense. A government official described it as "literally like finding a needle in a haystack."
After receiving the location data from the CIA, the U.S. Ministry of National Defense and the White House immediately deployed U.S. special operations forces. Hundreds of troops, including Navy SEAL Team 6, were mobilized for the mission, and bombs and firepower were used to block Iranian forces from approaching while the special operations unit moved toward the isolated officer. When two U.S. transport aircraft carrying the pilot and rescue personnel became unable to take off from a remote area inside Iran, the U.S. military sent additional transports and self-destructed the existing aircraft to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
U.S. President Donald Trump, after the successful rescue, said, "It is unprecedented that two U.S. military pilots were each rescued separately from deep inside enemy territory," adding, "We will never leave America's warriors behind."
There was no direct engagement between U.S. and Iranian forces in the process. The NYT said the CIA's deception operation suggests it may have succeeded in luring part of the Iranian forces tracking the pilot to other areas.
If the operation had failed, it likely would have worked against the United States in negotiations. Politico said, "The rescue operation prevented a situation in which Iran captured the airman," adding, "Capturing the airman could have been a significant political blow to the Trump administration and, as the war entered its second month, a powerful bargaining chip for Tehran."
Meanwhile, the officer who ejected from the fighter also let people know of survival with a short message. President Trump said in an interview with the political outlet Axios that immediately after the escape the officer said, "Power be to God." The U.S. military initially suspected the remark might be a "false signal" sent by Iran to lure them into a trap, but after confirming the officer was a devout believer, they dropped their doubts and became confident of survival.