{"id":9039,"date":"2026-04-06T05:31:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=9039"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:23:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T00:23:53","slug":"9039","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2026\/04\/06\/9039\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

More details.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Safe and sound\u2019: How a U.S. Airman Shot Down in Iran Was Rescued From a Mountain Crevice,\u201d<\/a> Time, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0A defense official told Axios that the pilot and the airman \u201cwere spread apart by a couple miles\u201d with \u201chundreds\u201d of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers \u201ceverywhere.\u201d\u00a0 \u2026 After the crash landing, the colonel hiked up a 7,000-foot mountain ridgeline and hid in a crevice. While evading capture, he activated an emergency beacon, which allowed U.S. forces to locate him, two U.S. officials told Fox News. A military official told the New York Times that the airman\u2019s signaling was intermittent. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was at the center of the operation, launching a deception campaign to throw Iranian officials off, according to Axios. It said CIA operatives spread a false campaign within Iran that both crew members of the downed F-15 jet had already been found and that U.S. forces were working on exfiltration, trying to confuse Iranian officials who were also working to capture the officer. Trump told Axios that U.S. officials initially suspected the airman might be in Iranian captivity and \u201csending false signals\u201d to create a trap. The airman had sent a short radio message that said \u201cGod is good,\u201d a defense official told Axios. (Trump told the outlet the message said \u201cPower be to God\u201d and that \u201cwhat he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say.\u201d) The CIA used special technology to locate the airman and determine that it was him, an official told the Times. The CIA also reportedly facilitated an \u201cunconventional assisted recovery,\u201d a process in which the agency contacts civilians willing to aid or shelter U.S. military forces, Axios reported. While the airman was hiding in the mountains, IRGC said it was searching the area near where the pilot’s plane came down, and Iranian officials issued a public plea for locals to find the crew member, offering a reward of $60,000. Videos posted online showed locals from the area where the jet went down forming search parties to find the airman. According to the Times, U.S. aircraft dropped bombs on convoys that approached the area where the airman was hiding. When the airman was found, he was taken to two MC-130J aircraft that were waiting nearby to exfiltrate him out of the country. But the aircraft malfunctioned, which led to U.S. forces destroying the two disabled planes and four helicopters, the Times reported. The commandos and injured airman were eventually reloaded onto three replacement aircraft, according to the Times.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m waiting to hear how the airman was transported from hiding place to waiting aircraft (that had to be destroyed).\u00a0 What a story, wait for the movie.\u00a0\u00a0And you didn\u2019t hear this from me, right?\u00a0 Do you remember that Russia and China are providing targeting information to Iran?\u00a0 Do you think if they could read where the pilot was hiding from his emergency beacon that they would have passed that on to Iran?<\/p>\n

\u201cIran says intelligence chief killed by US-Israeli strike, as Trump threatens ‘hell’ if deal not made,\u201d<\/a> BBC, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0Israel has struck the IRGC intelligence chief Majid Khademi.\u00a0 See also\u00a0\u201cSlain IRGC spy chief led operations against Israel, US, IDF says,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMajid Khademi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards\u2019 intelligence arm killed in Tehran on Sunday, was involved in activities against Israel, the US, and Iranian dissidents, the Israeli military said on Monday. \u201cKhademi worked to advance terrorist activities against the State of Israel and against Jewish targets worldwide. He also took part in attempts to target American individuals and was responsible for monitoring Iranian civilians as part of the regime\u2019s suppression of internal protests,\u201d read the statement by Israel Defense Forces. The IDF described him as a key figure in operations directed both abroad and inside Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just yesterday, much of the world condemned the Knesset law allowing the death penalty for Palestinians killing Jews in the West Bank.\u00a0 But where is the condemnation from Iran\u2019s Parliament approval of the death penalty for protesters?\u00a0 See \u201cDeath penalty one of many tactics used by Iranian regime to prevent further protests,\u201d<\/a> BBC, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cFrom what people have told me from the capital, on some nights, aside from the sound of strikes and explosions, there is another noise that prevents people from sleeping. It is the sound of patrols moving through the streets with the Islamic Republic\u2019s flag and loudspeakers which can reinforce a constant sense of control. Other tactics have also been used, including checkpoints appearing across cities, the internet blackout, and mass text warnings sent to residents. These measures limit communication, making it more difficult for protests to form and spread.\u201d\u00a0 BTW, just to make it clear that I don\u2019t endorse the new law in Israel, here on this blog I fully stand behind the points of the article, \u201cThe death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of deadly acts of terror is unconstitutional,\u201d<\/a> Times of Israel, 4-3-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael killed Quds Force Unit 840 commander, Netanyahu says,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel killed Asghar Bakri \u2013 aka Yazdan Mir or Commander Bagheri \u2013 the head of Unit 840 in Iran\u2019s IRGC-Quds Force, in an overnight operation, according to a post on X. Netanyahu said Bakri had been responsible for attacks targeting Jews and Israelis around the world. He also said Israel killed Majid Khademi, the head of IRGC intelligence, describing him as a senior figure who had recently taken up the post after his predecessor was killed. \u201cWhoever acts to murder our citizens, whoever directs terror against the State of Israel, whoever builds the Iranian axis of evil, bears responsibility for his own blood,\u201d Netanyahu said.”\u00a0 It really is quite striking that after years of Iran trying to kill Israel, putting the Ayatollah’s words into actions, that Israel is finally able to stop much of this, certainly to deter.\u00a0 Intelligence agencies and militaries around the world competely understand what is going on here.<\/p>\n

More details.\u00a0 The noses of the C-130s sunk, which will be subject of evaluation.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA Harrowing Race Against Time to Find a Downed U.S. Airman in Iran,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cA senior U.S. official described the rescue mission as one of the most challenging and complex in the history of U.S. Special Operations. The commandos had to contend with the mountainous terrain, the Iranian forces that they assumed would rush to attack them and the injured airman\u2019s health, which remained uncertain. As the commandos landed on the objective, U.S. and Israeli warplanes dropped bombs whose bright orange blasts lit up the silhouettes of the surrounding mountains. From his hiding place, the weapons officer alerted his rescuers to the areas they should target for strikes, where he could see Iranians advancing, one senior military official said. The commandos fired their weapons ferociously to keep any Iranians in the area from advancing toward them. But they did not engage in a firefight with enemy forces. U.S. officials described the territory where the airman was hiding as strongly opposed to the Iranian regime and said it was unclear how close Iranian forces ever got to the site. He was rushed to a helicopter that whisked him off to a sandy, austere airstrip inside Iran that Special Operations forces had previously developed for possible rescues or other contingencies. The plan was to immediately load the airman and the rescue force onto two C-130 aircraft that were supposed to carry them out of danger to an airfield in Kuwait. But, in a final twist, the nose gear of at least one, and possibly both, of those planes got stuck in the sandy dirt at the airstrip, military officials said. Hours passed. Efforts to free the stuck wheels failed, so the commandos called in three replacement aircraft. \u2026 Eventually the commandos and the injured weapons system operator were reloaded onto three newly arrived replacement aircraft. After the rescue team left, American warplanes bombed the two disabled planes and four MH-6 Special Operations helicopters rather than let them fall into Iranian hands. As the sun was rising, the three planes launched in succession from the remote airstrip. The plane carrying the rescued airman went first followed by the others. When word reached the White House that the aircraft had cleared Iranian airspace, Mr. Trump announced the mission\u2019s success. \u2026 All of the commandos were safe and accounted for. There were no U.S. casualties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice that with the death of the two officials over the weekend, there was not a statement from \u201cthe third ayatollah\u201d Mojtaba Khamenei.\u00a0 Maybe there\u2019s a reason.\u00a0 See \u201cThe Latest Blows to Iran\u2019s Leadership,\u201d<\/a> NYT, 4-6-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran pushes back against Trump’s deadline,”<\/a> NPR, 4-6-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cPakistan-backed proposal sketches two-phase deal to halt hostilities,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 4-6-26.<\/p>\n

It is an interesting thought to debate whether the terrorists (IRGC, Houthis) have grown so powerful they now threaten the entire world (trade and power) or if they have grown so desperate they now endanger themselves from the world\u2019s ire?\u00a0 See \u201cIran threatens Bab al-Mandeb closure: How would that affect world trade?,\u201d<\/a> Al Jazeera, 4-6-26.<\/p>\n

This was no ordinary university.\u00a0 Its professors conducted some of the nuclear weapons program research.\u00a0 Too bad the article didn\u2019t mention this.\u00a0 \u201cIran\u2019s top university bombed as US, Israel intensify attacks; 34 killed,\u201d<\/a> Al Jazeera, 4-6-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran withholds body of executed teen protester,\u201d<\/a> Iran International, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0This is a typical example of Iranian justice.\u00a0 \u201cJudicial authorities accused the detainees of attempting to access an armory. After interrogations that involved severe psychological pressure, they were transferred to Ghezel Hesar prison, the source said. The defendants were denied in-person visits during detention and were only allowed phone calls. Their trial was held by Judge Abolghasem Salavati, and they were denied access to a lawyer of their choice. Death sentences were issued on February 7. Iran International sources said the confessions in the case were obtained under coercion and that the judicial process led to executions without full awareness of the defendants and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More details.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Safe and sound\u2019: How a U.S. Airman Shot Down in Iran Was Rescued From a Mountain Crevice,\u201d Time, 4-6-26.\u00a0\u00a0A defense official told Axios that the pilot and the airman \u201cwere spread apart by a couple miles\u201d with \u201chundreds\u201d of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers \u201ceverywhere.\u201d\u00a0 \u2026 After the crash landing, the … <\/p>\n

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