Iran military says US airman rescue operation 'completely foiled'

In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April. AP-Yonhap

TEHRAN — Iran's military said on Sunday that the U.S. operation to rescue an airman from a downed American fighter jet had been "completely foiled," without suggesting he had been captured.

The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the officer had been rescued in a search and rescue operation and was "SAFE and SOUND."

"The so-called U.S. military rescue operation, planned as a deception and escape mission at an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan under the pretext of recovering the pilot of a downed aircraft, was completely foiled," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for the military's central command, Khatam Al-Anbiya.

In a video statement carried by state television, he said that "two C-130 military transport planes and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed" during the operation.

He added that Trump went ahead with "empty rhetoric and diversion although the reality on the ground demonstrates the superior position of Iran's powerful armed forces." State media shared images of charred wreckage scattered across a desert area, with smoke still rising from the site.

Iranian media reported that strikes during the rescue operation killed five people in the southwest, although it was not immediately clear whether they were civilians or military.

Since Friday, Iranian media has also shared footage showing local residents, some carrying flags and rifles, searching for the aviator after authorities offered a bounty for information.