Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
A report broadcast by Press TV has challenged earlier narratives surrounding a recent US military operation in central Iran, alleging that the mission was not a rescue attempt for a downed pilot but a covert strike targeting a nuclear facility near Isfahan.
According to the report, which cited information from a senior security official, the operation was planned as a clandestine infiltration aimed at breaching a sensitive nuclear site. The claims directly contradict earlier accounts suggesting that US forces had launched a high-risk mission to recover a captured or stranded airman.
The report states that in the days leading up to the operation, US forces potentially alongside Israeli support, conducted reconnaissance missions that resulted in significant aerial losses, including at least one A-10 Thunderbolt II and multiple helicopters such as the UH-60 Black Hawk. These losses, it claims, occurred during preparatory surveillance flights over Iranian territory.
Planning for the operation allegedly culminated in a high-level meeting at the White House under the direct supervision of President Donald Trump. The mission’s execution reportedly relied on the assumption that Iranian air defenses would be unable to intercept incoming aircraft, an assessment the report describes as a critical miscalculation.
The operation’s “zero hour” involved the deployment of Lockheed C-130 Hercules planes to a deserted airstrip located near the alleged nuclear target. The first aircraft, carrying special operations forces, reportedly landed but encountered difficulties on the unprepared runway.
Shortly afterward, a second C-130 approached, transporting equipment, specialized vehicles, and several MH-6 Little Bird helicopters intended to support the mission. At this stage, Iranian forces said to have been on full alert engaged the incoming aircraft, forcing it into an emergency landing.
Additional Black Hawk helicopters arrived at the scene, but by then, Iranian military units, including regular army forces, police, and auxiliary units, had encircled the landing zone. The report claims that what began as a covert infiltration rapidly deteriorated into a direct confrontation, leaving US special forces exposed.
According to the account, American command authorities in Washington quickly shifted the mission’s objective from infiltration to extraction. A decision was allegedly made from the White House situation room to prioritize the evacuation of trapped personnel under fire. Several smaller aircraft were dispatched in what the report describes as a hurried and chaotic rescue effort.
The evacuation, it says, was conducted under intense pressure, with some US personnel abandoning equipment and personal items at the site in order to escape. Among the items reportedly recovered were identification documents belonging to an American officer, though these claims have not been independently verified.
Following the withdrawal, US fighter jets are said to have established a defensive perimeter around the landing zone, carrying out heavy bombardment within a radius of several kilometers. The strikes reportedly targeted abandoned aircraft and equipment, including the Little Bird helicopters, to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
The report portrays the operation as a significant failure, asserting that US forces were unable to achieve their primary objective and were forced into a retreat under fire. It further claims that the incident was subsequently reframed by US officials as a successful rescue mission in order to mitigate political fallout.
No official confirmation of these details has been provided by the United States, and independent verification remains limited. Analysts caution that accounts emerging from state-affiliated media outlets should be evaluated carefully, particularly amid ongoing conflict and competing narratives.
The incident underscores the growing opacity and information warfare surrounding the escalating confrontation between Washington and Tehran, where conflicting versions of events continue to shape global perceptions of the crisis.
