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• Get the latest updates on the war with Iran here.
What we know so far
• US aircraft downed: The status of a US service member remains unknown after an F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iran. The jet’s other crew member was rescued, US sources told CNN. Iran also struck a second US military plane Friday, forcing the pilot to eject outside Iranian territory, according to a US official.
• Iran offers reward: Tehran has claimed responsibility for shooting down the F-15 and has promised a reward if Iranians find and hand over an American service member.
• In Washington, DC: President Donald Trump still has not publicly commented on the search and rescue mission for the downed crew member. He said in an interview Friday that the jet’s downing would not affect Iran war negotiations.
Iranian state media reports at least one killed in north Tehran missile attack
At least one person was killed in a “missile attack” in a residential area of northern Tehran Saturday morning, according to Iranian state-affiliated Mehr News.
In a video report, a news correspondent shows several blown-out cars and a pool of blood on the road, said to be in north Tehran.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society said early Saturday it was providing emergency assistance to an area in north Tehran in the wake of overnight strikes.
A video posted by the humanitarian organization showed a building blackened and gutted by an attack.
Iran’s Parliament speaker makes veiled threat against Red Sea chokepoint
With Iran in effective control of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday made a veiled threat against another Middle East shipping chokepoint, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.
The Bab el-Mandeb is the southern access to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, which gives access to the Mediterranean Sea.
“What share of global oil, LNG, wheat, rice, and fertilizer shipments transits the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait?
“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
Iran’s Houthi proxy in Yemen sits on the shores of the Bab el-Mandeb and in November 2023 began attacking ships in the Red Sea to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza against Israel.
The attacks caused a large reduction in ship traffic through the Red Sea – by more than 50%, according to some estimates – and companies saw costs and shipping times spike as vessels were rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
According to the World Economic Forum, 12% of total global trade and 30% of the world’s container traffic transits the Suez Canal. Around 6% of the world’s seaborne-traded oil transits the Bab el-Mandeb, according to the US Energy Information Agency.
The Red Sea is also a secondary outlet for Saudi Arabian oil exports to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. The port of Yanbu on the waterway is the end of a cross-country pipeline through which Saudi Arabia can transport 7 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to Saudi Aramco.
Republican senator draws hard line over funding for Iran war
Republican Sen. John Curtis on Friday said he “cannot support funding for further military operations” in the conflict with Iran unless Congress formally declares war.
“While I support maintaining our readiness and replenishing stockpiles, I cannot support funding for further military operations without a formal declaration of war from Congress,” Curtis said on X.
The Utah senator said that while he stands by President Donald Trump’s military campaign in the Middle East, “We must be clear-eyed about history and the Constitution.”
Cracks have been emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war with key lawmakers skeptical about the possibility of spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prolong the conflict and several refusing to support any money without a clear White House strategy.
How the US kickstarted Iran’s nuclear program
President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” program was a deal between the US and developing nations, which unknowingly laid the foundations for one of the most controversial nuclear programs in the world. CNN’s Leila Gharagozlou reports.
President Dwight Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” program was a deal between the US and developing nations, which unknowingly laid the foundations for one of the most controversial nuclear programs in the world. CNN’s Leila Gharagozlou reports.
How US fighter jet pilots train to survive enemy fire
CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton explains how survival training prepares US fighter jet aircrews for enemy fire — like in the recent downing of a US F-15 in Iran.
CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton explains how survival training prepares US fighter jet aircrews for enemy fire—like in the recent downing of a US F-15 in Iran.
Video appears to show Iranian police shooting at passing helicopters
A video shared Friday appears to show a group of Iranian police officers shooting at a pair of helicopters flying at low altitude over the town of Charam, in southwestern Iran.
The person filming the video, which was posted on X, says the men are “our police officers” and cheers as they open fire. The car that the men get out of has a green stripe on its side, like Iran’s police cars.
The helicopters appear to be a variant of the US-made Black Hawk helicopter, which both the US and Israel operate. Some specialized Black Hawk variants are commonly used in combat search and rescue missions, like the one currently being carried out over southwestern Iran.
The pair of helicopters in the video are about 55 miles inside Iran, and nearly 200 miles from the nearest US base.
Multiple other videos showing military aircraft operating over Iran on Friday were filmed nearby, apparently taking part in an intense search and rescue effort for the two crew members of an American F-15E which was shot down. One of the crew members has been rescued, sources told CNN, but the status of the other crew member is unclear.
Upcoming UN vote on Strait of Hormuz proposal and other headlines to know
Next week, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on a Bahraini resolution to secure transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing diplomats.
In the meantime, the White House is seeking a large chunk of money for defense as the administration wages war with Iran — with President Donald Trump saying the strait is other countries’ problem to solve.
It comes after news today that an F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran. Tehran also struck a second US military plane.
Here’s the latest:
- Hormuz resolution vote: The UN Security Council will vote on a resolution about the Strait of Hormuz. The draft, if adopted, would authorize countries to use “all defensive means necessary” to secure transit passage through the waterway.
- Big budget ask: The $1.5 trillion for defense is part of the White House’s fiscal 2027 budget request. It would increase the government’s defense spending by more than 40% compared to last year.
- Plane strike reaction: Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, mocked the US’ search for a missing crew member of the downed fighter jet. Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who is on the House Armed Services Committee, questioned Trump’s approach to the Iran war after a fighter jet was downed, saying the administration doesn’t “know how to get out of this mess.”
- A brief bet: The prediction site Polymarket briefly offered a betting market on whether the US fighter jet crew shot down over Iran would be rescued. It’s unclear how long the market was available before it was taken down.
- Strikes in Iran: Buildings at the Shahid Beheshti University, a prestigious university in Tehran, were damaged by a US-Israeli strike, the Iranian Red Crescent and local media said.
Tori B. Powell, Issy Ronald, Kareem El Damanhoury, Marshall Cohen, Mitchell McCluskey, Tami Luhby and Adam Cancryn contributed reporting to this post.
Meanwhile: What we know about the decision to fire the US Army chief of staff
As our coverage of the Iran war continues, we’re also learning more about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s firing of US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
A source familiar with the details tells CNN the decision was “abrupt but expected after several threats” from Hegseth against George, which Army Secretary Dan Driscoll “defended at every turn.”
Driscoll and George, the source says, were focused on “transforming the army, totally focused on lethality and warfighting” as the Trump administration was asking for, but Hegseth and George had been at loggerheads for months on promotion and personnel management issues.
“Hegseth was sidelining folks for political and seemingly other reasons,” the source said, refusing to allow the promotion of several senior officers including two black officers and two women.
“Usually the chief of staff would manage this with the chairman” of the joint chiefs, the source said. “And officers are selected on merit and best fit.” But Hegseth “added additional screening. Not sure what they’re screening for. No one knows except them.”
White House seeks hefty increase in defense spending as US wages war with Iran
The White House is seeking roughly $1.5 trillion for defense as part of a fiscal 2027 budget request — a proposal that would boost military spending to its highest point in modern history as the Trump administration wages war with Iran.
The blueprint released Friday — a largely symbolic reflection of the president’s priorities — would increase the government’s defense spending by more than 40% compared to last year. It aims to bolster munitions and build out the US naval fleet while also beginning construction on President Donald Trump’s planned “Golden Dome” missile defense system. It would also provide hefty raises of between 5% and 7% for all military personnel to help with recruitment and retention.
The historic defense spending levels come amid the ongoing war with Iran, signaling little interest within the White House to shift attention and resources elsewhere, despite Trump’s repeated assurance that he plans to wind down the fighting in the Middle East within weeks.
By contrast, the budget proposal seeks to slash nondefense spending by 10% — a $73 billion cut that would primarily affect housing, social services, health care and other domestic programs that the administration has derided as “woke.”
Read more about how the Trump administration seeks to increase defense spending here.
UN Security Council's vote on Strait of Hormuz proposal postponed to next week
The UN Security Council is now expected to vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to secure transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Friday, citing diplomats.
The vote was initially set for Friday, then rescheduled for Saturday. Several diplomats said the vote was postponed until next week and no new date has been set, according to Reuters.
Bahrain’s UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reason for the delay, said the news agency.
The draft resolution, if adopted, would authorize countries to use “all defensive means necessary” to secure transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz. It would authorize naval action in the strait, which has been effectively closed since the start of the war.
The proposed move has reportedly faced resistance from China, Russia and others. It would be “legitimizing the unlawful and indiscriminate use of force, which would inevitably lead to further escalation of the situation and lead to serious consequences,” Reuters reported China’s UN envoy Fu Cong as saying on Thursday.
"This time, we disagree," Italian leader says of Trump's criticism of allies
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – usually seen as one of Trump’s key allies in Europe – says she “disagrees” with the US president’s criticism of European nations and their stance on the war with Iran.
“I continue to believe that, on a geopolitical level, Europe has little to gain from a divergence with the United States, but our job is above all to defend our national interests, and when we disagree, we must say so,” she told Italian broadcaster RAI. “And this time, we disagree.”
Meloni, who is in Saudi Arabia to secure energy supplies for Italy, said the Italian economy was feeling the pinch of the war and that her government was determined to protect Italian families and businesses.
Her comments come just days after Italy blocked a US aircraft bound for the Middle East from using a military base in Sicily.
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at European allies for not supporting the war with Iran. Earlier this week, he wrote on social media that other countries would need to step up in patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial Tehran-controlled oil chokepoint. He has argued that because many European nations rely more heavily on the strait for their oil, they must also be responsible for helping get it back up and running.
Italy and other European countries have sent air defense assistance to Gulf allies but have questioned the war’s legality.
The latest details on a downed US jet and other news from the Middle East conflict
President Donald Trump told NBC News today that the downing of a US fighter jet over Iran would not affect any negotiations with the country. While US forces rescued one service member, who is alive and receiving medical treatment, the status of a second crew member isn’t immediately clear.
Israel postponed some of its planned strikes in Iran Friday so as not to interfere with the search and rescue efforts, an Israeli official confirmed to CNN. Israel also has offered intelligence support, according to two Israeli sources.
There have been some new updates from the Middle East since:
- A second US military plane — an A-10 Thunderbolt II — was struck by Iran on Friday, according to a US official familiar with the matter. The official said the pilot was able to navigate out of Iranian territory before ejecting and was subsequently rescued.
- Buildings at the Shahid Beheshti University, a prestigious university in Tehran, were damaged by a US-Israeli strike on Friday, the Iranian Red Crescent and local media said.
- Falling debris from an intercepted attack caused two fires at Abu Dhabi gas facilities, killing at least one person, the city’s media office said.
- The reported death toll rose to at least 13 from a Thursday strike on a major bridge just outside Tehran. Rocks fell “like rain on people’s heads,” victims said as they recalled the US strike to local media.
- NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to meet with Trump Wednesday, as the president has expressed frustration with the alliance for its lack of help in Iran.
- Three United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers were injured in southern Lebanon, including two seriously, a spokesperson for the UN mission said Friday.
A person who fled Iran for safety said Iranians are starting to lose hope the war will ultimately be beneficial to them, especially if US President Donald Trump targets civilian infrastructure:
CNN's Christiane Amanpour reacts to President Donald Trump's speech about the Iran war and explains why some Iranians are upset about his remarks.
CNN’s Aditi Sangal, Kevin Liptak, Haley Britzky, Kristen Holmes, Michael Rios, Issy Ronald, Sophie Tanno, Kareem El Damanhoury, Pamela Brown and Kit Maher contributed to this report.
Iran's parliament speaker mocks US search for crew member of downed jet
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, mocked the United States’ search for a missing crew member after a fighter jet was shot down on Friday.
One of the crew members aboard the jet was rescued during the US military’s search effort. The status of the other was not immediately clear.
“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?’ ” Ghalibaf wrote on X on Friday.
“Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses,” he continued.
Since the death of longtime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ghalibaf has emerged as a strongman of the Iranian regime.
Polymarket briefly offers betting on US fighter jet crew rescue
The prediction site Polymarket briefly offered a betting market Friday on whether the US fighter jet crew shot down over Iran would be rescued.
The market, “US confirms pilots rescued by…?” was hosted on Polymarket’s international site, according to a version of the page captured by the Internet Archive. The offshore version of the platform operates out of reach of US federal regulations that ban markets on warfare.
It’s unclear how long the market was available and how many people actually placed trades.
“We took this market down immediately as it does not meet our integrity standards,” Polymarket said in an X post Friday afternoon. “It should not have been posted, and we are investigating how this slipped through our internal safeguards.”
The market swiftly drew criticism from at least one lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, who is a veteran. He said it was “disgusting” that “people are betting on whether or not they’ll be saved,” referring to the crew.
During the Iran war, lawmakers and government watchdogs have intensely scrutinized prediction platforms for offering so-called “death markets” and for not cracking down hard enough on possible insider trading.
House Armed Services Democrat questions whether Trump admin knows how to end Iran war
Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts questioned President Donald Trump’s approach to the Iran war after a US fighter jet was downed on Friday.
Moulton, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, cast doubt on the administration’s end game as the conflict nears the five-week mark.
During a primetime address on Iran from the White House Wednesday night, Trump asserted that the US had completely eliminated Iranian anti-aircraft facilities. The suggestion, Moulton argued Friday, puts US troops “at grave risk.”
“The commander-in-chief doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” the congressman said.
Iran hit a second US combat aircraft on Friday, forcing pilot to eject
A second US military plane — an A-10 Thunderbolt II — was struck by Iran on Friday, forcing the pilot to eject, according to a US official familiar with the matter.
The pilot of the A-10, also known as a Warthog, was able to navigate the plane out of Iranian territory before ejecting from the aircraft and was subsequently rescued, the official said.
Iran’s military claimed to have hit the aircraft, saying it crashed into the Persian Gulf after Iran’s air defense systems targeted it near the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported, citing a statement from the army’s public relations office.
The incident occurred the same day an F-15E was downed over Iran, CNN previously reported. One service member was recovered after a search-and-rescue mission, but the fate of the jet’s second crew member remains unclear.
Warthogs are single-seat aircraft and have been flying missions over Iran for several weeks.
CNN has reached out to the US Central Command for comment.
This post has been updated with details from a US official.
Prestigious university in Tehran damaged by strike, Iranian Red Crescent says
Buildings at the Shahid Beheshti University, a prestigious university in Tehran, were damaged by a US-Israeli strike on Friday, the Iranian Red Crescent and local media said.
Footage geolocated by CNN showed mangled buildings in the university with smoke rising from them and rescue workers walking through rubble.
The university’s Laser and Plasma Research Institute was struck, according to the Red Crescent, while Iranian state-owned Press TV added that the female students’ dormitory was also damaged. CNN also identified smoke rising from the part of the campus which hosts the Laser and Plasma Research Institute.
Shahid Beheshti University issued a statement condemning the attack, calling it “inhumane” and “anti-science” behavior.
“This hostile act not only targeted the safety of academics and the country’s scientific environment, but also represents a clear attack on reason, research, and freedom of thought,” it added, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News.
The University of Tehran’s president also issued a statement after the attack, calling on the Iranian armed forces to “retaliate with maximum power” and to “punish the aggressors,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Iranian universities have increasingly come under attack in the past week, in what Tehran claims is an attempt to weaken the country’s scientific and cultural foundations and what Israel frames as part of a broader effort to degrade Iran’s nuclear program.
In retaliation for these attacks, Tehran has threatened to target American and Israeli-affiliated universities across the region, disrupting higher education in Lebanon, Qatar and other Gulf states.
CNN’s Avery Schmitz, Adam Pourahmadi and Oliver Sherwood contributed reporting.
How the US searches for crew of downed aircraft, according to a former Air Force official
When a US Air Force fighter crew is forced to eject, particularly over hostile territory, “everyone” in the military operations center overseeing the mission shifts their focus to finding and recovering the crew members as quickly as possible, a retired Air Force C-17 pilot and former Director of the Personnel Recovery Center in Iraq in 2008, told CNN.
CNN reported Friday that one of the US crew members from a downed F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet has been rescued. The status of the second crew member is not clear. F-15s typically carry both a pilot and a weapon systems officer as part of its two-man crew.
The crew members go through extensive training for not only how to safely eject, but how to survive once they’ve landed in hostile territory. The two-man crew typically ejects “almost simultaneously,” though it’s not uncommon to be separated from one another based on wind and other factors once they are out of the aircraft and their parachutes have opened.
The personnel recovery team “has very, very sophisticated ways” of finding not only the aircraft that has crashed, but the crew, Chaudhary said.
The training used in these scenarios is called SERE — Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape. The first step, survival, tells the service member to ensure physically they are okay after the landing, check their equipment, and get to a safe location as quickly as possible. The second step, evasion, includes “a number of tactics to lower your profile,” Chaudhary said, and avoid potentially hostile forces or civilians in order to make contact with the rescue team.
Trump says downed US jet won't affect any negotiations with Iran
President Donald Trump told NBC News that the downing of a US fighter jet would not affect any negotiations with Iran, while declining to discuss the ongoing search and rescue mission.
“No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war,” Trump said in a brief phone interview.
In a separate phone interview Friday with The Independent, Trump said he couldn’t comment on what he would do if the second crew member of the downed F-15 is captured or harmed by the Iranians.
“We hope that’s not going to happen,” he said.
Trump also posted a vague message about oil this afternoon, writing on Truth Social: “KEEP THE OIL, ANYONE?”
He suggested in a separate post earlier Friday that the US could “easily” reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz, a shift in stance after insisting other countries are responsible for clearing the waterway.
“With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE,” Trump wrote Friday morning.
