A U.S. Air Force weapons system officer (WSO) was rescued from Iran early Sunday morning local time after roughly 36 hours in hiding. The WSO and a pilot ejected from an F-15E fighter jet when it was downed over Iran on Friday. The pilot was rescued that morning.
Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and former Pentagon official, said the rescue demonstrated the U.S. ability to penetrate Iranian territory for missions ranging from rescues to securing sensitive targets. "This demonstrates to the Iranian leadership that we can get anywhere that we so choose and hold ground as long as we desire to accomplish a mission," Sadler said on 'Fox & Friends Weekend' Sunday.
Sadler added that intelligence agencies and special forces from various military services were involved in the operation. He also noted that America's regional allies, including Gulf partners and Israel, played a role in the mission. "Our Gulf partners would have had to have given some clearance for the aircraft to fly through," Sadler said. "The Israelis, I think they [were] deeply integrated into this, to shift their targets and their attacks so that it would draw the Iranians away or keep them busy as we focused in on locating and exfiltrating our pilot."
The successful rescue mission was described by former President Donald Trump as an 'Easter miracle.' Sadler emphasized that the operation dashed any hopes Iran had of using the downed airman for political purposes or to stop U.S. military operations.