U.S. searches for crew after fighter jet shot down over Iran

Iran shot down a U.S. fighter jet over the country on Friday, according to U.S. officials, Iranian state-affiliated media and an Israeli military official.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that "newly developed and advanced air defenses" had downed the fighter jet, which was "completely destroyed and crashed," according to Tehran's Press TV. If confirmed, it would mark the first known loss of a jet inside Iran since the start of the conflict.

The fate of the plane's crew remained unclear as U.S. forces scrambled to mount a search and rescue operation before Iranian authorities could reach any survivors, officials said. Iranian state television claimed the pilot had ejected from the aircraft over southwestern Iran.

Iran's state television offered a bounty for information leading to the pilot's capture. An anchor on a local affiliate of the state broadcaster promised a reward to members of the Iranian public who alert regime authorities to the pilot's location. "If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize," the anchor said, according to reports.

U.S. Central Command maintains multiple task forces positioned near Iran for search and rescue operations in the event that American warplanes are shot down, including forces in both Iraq and Syria, officials said. However, such operations are highly difficult because Iran has demonstrated its ability to launch strikes, particularly at slow-moving helicopters that might be involved in rescue efforts.

The downing occurred the same day that President Trump celebrated the American bombing of an Iranian highway bridge and warned on social media that there was "much more to follow." The U.S. attack targeted the B1 bridge between Tehran and the shores of the Caspian Sea.