DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A channel affiliated with Iranian state television claimed Friday that a U.S. fighter pilot ejected from their aircraft over southwestern Iran.
It was not clear what may have happened to the plane, including whether Iran was claiming it was shot down or there was another issue. If the claim is confirmed, it could lead to yet another dramatic escalation in the war, nearing the end of its fifth week. The U.S. did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The anchor on the Iranian channel urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward for anyone who did. The channel is in Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, an intensely rural and mountainous region that spans over 15,500 square kilometers (5,900 square miles).
An on-screen crawl earlier urged the public to “shoot them if you see them,” referring to social media footage circulating of what appeared to be U.S. aircraft in the area.
The channel showed metal debris in the back of a pickup truck while making the announcement but provided no other immediate details.
Throughout the war, Iran has made a series of claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out not to be true. Friday was the first time that Iran went on television urging the public to look for a suspected downed pilot.
U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon and the White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iran’s former top diplomat suggests terms to end the war
In a sign that part of Iran’s theocracy could be willing to negotiate, the country’s former top diplomat published a proposal for ending the conflict in an influential American magazine.
Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif — a diplomat with long experience negotiating with the West who remains close to a pragmatic wing of Iran’s leadership — wrote on Friday that the time has come to end the suffering.
“Prolonged hostility will cause a greater loss of precious lives and irreplaceable resources without actually altering the existing stalemate,” Zarif, who helped negotiate Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan for a ceasefire that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, dismantling Iran’s nuclear facilities and limiting its missile production in exchange for sanctions relief. But no signs of progress were apparent in the diplomatic effort.
Iran’s initial five-point counterproposal aired by hard-line state television included recognizing Iran’s sovereignty over the strait, the removal of U.S. bases from the region, compensation for war damage, and a guarantee against further aggression — all things likely unpalatable to the Trump administration.
Zarif’s proposal included elements of both of the plans.
Iran “should offer to place limits on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to all sanctions — a deal Washington wouldn’t take before but might accept now,” he wrote.
It’s not clear how much to read into Zarif’s proposal. While he has no official position in Iran’s government, he helped get reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian elected and would likely not have published such a piece without at least some authorization from senior leaders.
Immediately after the piece came out, Zarif wrote he had been “torn” about it — a sign he may already face pressure at home.
What’s more, it’s not clear how U.S. President Donald Trump will respond. He has vacillated between saying the U.S. is negotiating an end to the war and threatening to expand it. Thousands of U.S. Marines and paratroopers have been ordered to the region, raising speculation that there could be a ground offensive.
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Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.