Shafaq News- Middle East

One crew member of the US fighter jet shot down over Iran has been rescued, while a search operation is underway for a second, Israeli and US media reported Friday.

The US military launched a search and rescue operation on Friday after the aircraft went down, deploying teams across Iraq and Syria, according to the reports. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the country's elite military force, announced Friday that it had downed a US fighter jet over Markazi Province in central Iran.

An Israeli official cited by the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom said the search for the second crew member remains active. US military aircraft were reported flying over the area in search of the missing pilot.

An Israeli official told Axios that Tel Aviv cancelled planned strikes in Iran “so as not to hamper the search and rescue efforts.”

Iranian military helicopters were also deployed in the area, according to the reports, with the stated objective of locating and capturing the American pilot. Tasnim News Agency, an Iranian state-affiliated outlet, reported that armed tribal and village groups in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province were also searching for possible soldiers in the area.