• What Happened: U.S. special operations forces rescued a seriously wounded Air Force colonel from deep inside Iran's mountains on Saturday, nearly 48 hours after his F-15E was shot down over Khuzestan province. The CIA ran a deception campaign to throw Iranian forces off while the colonel hid in a mountain crevice at 7,000 feet. No U.S. personnel were killed.
  • Why It Matters: Trump called it an "Easter Miracle" and the first rescue of its kind ever attempted in enemy territory this hostile. Israel halted its own strikes in the area to help. Hours after the rescue Trump warned Iran: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day."
  • Bottom Line: They came in hot, outnumbered, and in the dark. They brought our man home. God bless the United States military.

On Easter Sunday, President Trump had two words for America: "WE GOT HIM!"

The dramatic rescue of a seriously wounded U.S. Air Force colonel from deep inside the mountains of Iran unfolded Saturday night in what military officials and the president himself are calling one of the most daring search and rescue operations in American special operations history. Trump texted NBC News Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker with his assessment.

"The rescue was an Easter Miracle. The enemy was large and violent. The rescuers were brilliant, strong, decisive, and as cool as anyone can be," Trump said. "Such a rescue has never happened before in so violent an enemy territory. It is usually not done because it is considered not doable. Such a great military. Like no other. Happy Easter!"

The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran's Khuzestan province on April 3. Both crew members ejected. The pilot was rescued shortly after in broad daylight, with U.S. forces spending seven hours over Iran to complete that extraction. But the weapons systems officer, a highly respected colonel, could not be immediately located. For nearly 48 hours, as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fanned out across the mountains searching for him, the colonel was on his own.

He used his SERE training, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape, to move away from the wreckage and take cover. He hiked up a 7,000-foot mountain ridgeline and hid in a crevice. He activated an emergency beacon intermittently, giving U.S. forces just enough signal to track him. All while the IRGC closed in.

The CIA moved first. Agency operatives launched a deception campaign inside Iran, spreading false word that both crew members had already been found and that U.S. forces were moving them toward extraction. Iranian officials chasing a ghost gave American forces the window they needed. Israeli intelligence confirmed the colonel's location, removing doubt about whether the beacon signal might be an Iranian trap. Israel then halted its own strikes in the search area to clear the airspace for the mission. Netanyahu posted his reaction Sunday morning. "All Israelis rejoice in the incredible rescue of a brave American pilot by America's dauntless warriors. This proves that when free societies muster their courage and their resolve, they can confront seemingly insurmountable odds and overcome the forces of darkness and terror."

U.S. air assets launched strikes to prevent Iranian forces from closing in during the ground extraction. Special operations units executed a layered rescue under fire, navigating mountainous terrain with intense enemy activity. There was fighting on the ground. No U.S. personnel were killed.

Iran claimed it shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters during the operation. A regional intelligence official told the Associated Press that the U.S. military actually destroyed two transport planes due to mechanical malfunctions, bringing in additional aircraft to complete the mission.

Trump posted on Truth Social in the hours that followed, praising the operation and then turning his attention back to Iran's ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The president set a new Tuesday evening deadline for Tehran to reopen the waterway or face an unprecedented military strike on Iranian power plants and bridges. His message to Iran's leadership was not diplomatic.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—in' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell. JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah," Trump posted on Truth Social.

CENTCOM confirmed the operation in a brief statement: "U.S. forces successfully completed the rescues of two American service members from Iran after their F-15E fighter jet was shot down April 2 during a combat mission. The service members were safely recovered during separate search and rescue missions."

Trump will hold a news conference with military leaders at the Oval Office Monday at 1 PM ET.

An American colonel spent 48 hours alone in enemy mountains, hunted by the IRGC, with the world watching and no guarantee anyone could reach him. America's warriors reached him. On Easter Sunday, they brought him home.