Ghalibaf said that the whole Middle East is going to burn because of Trump “insisting on following Netanyahu’s commands,” adding that Washington “will not gain anything through war crimes.”
“The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game,” he stated.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked the US, saying that “after defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’”
As the US rescue operation was unfolding, Iran claimed to have destroyed a C-130 military transport plane and two Black Hawk helicopters, with videos showing the aircraft’s debris. Officials in Tehran did not say whether any of the US service members were killed or captured.
Iranian media has also shared photos of a heavily damaged CH-47 helicopter in Kuwait, saying it was hit in a drone strike.
Friday marked the first time during the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that Tehran has beyond reasonable doubt downed a manned US aircraft. However, America had already lost several jets.
On March 1, shortly after the start of the conflict, three F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down over Kuwait by Kuwaiti F/A-18 aircraft in what CENTCOM called an “apparent friendly fire incident.” All crew members ejected safely.
On March 12, two KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft were involved in a midair collision over western Iraq. One of the planes crashed, killing all six crew members aboard. CENTCOM confirmed that “this was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
On March 19, a US F-35 fighter jet was hit by Iranian ground fire during a combat mission. The pilot, who suffered shrapnel wounds, managed to land the aircraft at a US air base in the region.
On March 27, an Iranian strike on a Saudi Arabia air base destroyed an E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control aircraft, with photos showing the plane, which costs up to $500 million, split in two.
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Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said over 600 schools and educational facilities have been targeted, calling the Minab massacre part of “a systematic and brutal pattern of illegal warfare.” Iran has accused the US and Israel of committing genocide.
Separately, John Mecklin, editor-in-chief of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which sets the Doomsday Clock, described the war as “absolutely idiotic,” warning that “accidents, miscalculations, crazy stuff” happen in wars and a nuclear accident “can’t be ruled out” until the fighting stops.
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