Iran war reaches week 6, missing jet crew prompts rescue efforts

Photo credit: Houston Public Media

TEHRAN, Iran — U.S. and Israeli forces attacked multiple targets in Iran on Saturday as the war entered its sixth week, and U.S. officials continued the search for a service member who ejected from a fighter jet shot down by Iranian fire on Friday.

A second U.S. Air Force combat plane was also shot down near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, with its single crew member rescued. U.S. officials said search operations are ongoing for the second crew member from the first F-15E fighter.

U.S. and Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s Mahshahr Special Petrochemical Zone, the Bushehr nuclear facility, and ballistic and anti-aircraft missile storage sites in Tehran, according to Iranian and Israeli reports. Debris from intercepted drones in Dubai damaged the facade of an Oracle office building, and Iranian attacks also struck a water desalination plant and an oil refinery in Kuwait.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requested Army Chief of Staff Randy George to retire, U.S. officials said. Efforts by dozens of countries, excluding the U.S. and Israel, are underway to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blocked.

Pentagon data show 365 U.S. service members wounded and 13 killed in the conflict. Iran’s Health Ministry reports at least 2,076 fatalities from U.S.-Israeli strikes since February 28.

In Lebanon, Israel conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah positions, killing at least 23 people and displacing more than 600,000 residents in southern areas. The U.S. Embassy in Beirut warned American citizens of potential Iranian attacks on U.S. universities, prompting the American University of Beirut to shift some classes online.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard identified 18 U.S. tech and defense companies, including Palantir, Meta, Google, and Microsoft, as potential targets following the attempted assassination of former Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi.

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