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Earlier, two US warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, Iranian and US officials said on Friday, with two pilots rescued and a third still missing and being hunted by Tehran’s forces.
The incidents show the risks still faced by U.S. and Israeli aircraft over Iran despite assertions from US President Donald Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that their forces had total control of the skies.
The first plane, a two-seat US F-15E jet, was shot down by Iranian fire, officials in both countries said. The second plane, an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft, was hit by Iranian fire and crashed over Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting, two US officials said.
Two Blackhawk helicopters involved in the search effort for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two US officials told Reuters. The degree of injuries among the crew of the aircraft remained unclear. The status and whereabouts of the missing F-15E crew member was not publicly known. — with Agencies
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Saturday said that it has been informed by Iran about a projectile striking close to the premises of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
The IAEA said in an X post that one of the site’s physical protection staff members was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.
"No increase in radiation levels was reported," the IAEA said. Iran's Tasnim news agency said earlier on Saturday the incident did not damage the main parts of the plant and that production was unaffected.
As of Friday, 247 of the wounded were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 19 were Marines and 36 were Air Force airmen, according to Pentagon data available online.
The Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency said Saturday that the two men who were hanged belonged to the Iranian exile group Mujahedin-e-Khalq.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing a southwestern area near where the pilot's plane came down, while the regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed "forces of the hostile enemy.
" Iranians pummeled by American air power since the U.S. and Israel began their attacks on February 28 celebrated the plane downings.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on X the war had been "downgraded from regime change" to a hunt for pilots. Trump has been in the White House receiving updates on the rescue effort, a senior administration official told Reuters.
A fire broke out early on Saturday at storage facilities belonging to foreign oil companies west of Iraq's Basra after a drone strike, security sources told Reuters.
A day after an unprecedented surge in fuel prices triggered severe backlash, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced slashing the petrol price by PKR 80. Sharif in a midnight address on Friday announced that the government has decided to reduce petrol levy by PKR 80 per litre, making the commodity available to the end consumer for PKR 378 per litre.
Iran shooting down two American military aircraft marks an exceedingly rare assault for the US that has not happened in more than 20 years and shows the Islamic Republic's continued ability to hit back despite President Donald Trump asserting it has been "completely decimated."
Dubai authorities said on Saturday no injuries were reported after debris fell on the facade of an Oracle building in the emirate's Internet City following an aerial interception. Oracle featured on a list of 18 US companies Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has vowed to target in retaliation for attacks on the country.
Authorities in Dubai said on Saturday no fire or injuries were reported from debris falling on the facade of a building in the city's Marina area following an aerial interception, according to a post on X by the emirate's media office.
Vietnam's economy slowed in the first quarter from the three months prior, data showed on Saturday, as heavy exposure to Middle Eastern oil imports boosted inflation, presenting a challenge in reaching an annual growth target, authorities said.
On Friday, as Trump threatened to hit its bridges and power plants, Iran struck a power and water plant in Kuwait, underlining the vulnerability of Gulf states that rely heavily on desalination plants for drinking water.