The US Air Force colonel who was shot down over Iran and rescued after 36 hours sent a suspicious three-word message that initially sparked fears among American forces that they were being lured into a trap.
The seriously wounded weapons officer, whose call sign was “Dude Bravo 44,” climbed a 7,000-foot ridge, hid in a crevice for safety and submitted a short, unusual message over the radio — “God is good,” a US defense official told Axios.
President Trump and his team initially feared that the signal could be a ruse to lure more Americans into a dangerous situation.
“What he said on the radio sounded like something a Muslim would say,” Trump told Axios, referencing the Islamic phrase “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.”
Despite the worries, US military and intelligence officials were able to confirm the officer’s location and status along the Zagros Mountain range, launching a miraculous rescue operation early Sunday.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted the same phrase, “God is good,” on X after the colonel was rescued.
What to know about the daring rescue of the US airman in Iran:
Hegseth on Monday echoedTrump’s previous comments that likened the rescue to an Easter miracle.
“Shot down on Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday,” Hegseth said at a White House press briefing featuring Trump and top administration security and military officials.
“Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday. A pilot reborn. All home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing. God is good,” Hegseth said..
The US hailed the rescue efforts and commended the weapons officer, who was able to climb more than 1.3 miles and avoid detection by nearby Iranian fighters spurred by the chance to capture an American soldier and the $60,000 bounty placed on his head, the New York Times reported.
Officials said the colonel, armed only with a handgun, used “every means available” to avoid detection, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine noting that the officer’s “absolute commitment to surviving” made the successful rescue possible.
The colonel and his pilot, who was rescued just hours after their F-15E jet was shot down Friday, are both in stable condition, Trump told reporters Monday.
“They are both recovering very well. They were both injured, and they’re doing well,” he said.
The complex operation to rescue the colonel involved 100 special operations forces, led by SEAL Team 6, with Delta Force commandos and Army Rangers on standby, according to the Times.
Drone and other aircraft engaged in a gun fight with Iranians during the rescue mission, with an A-10 Warthog damaged by enemy fire, Caine told reporters.
The chairman said the colonel was out of Iran by 12 a.m. Easter Sunday.
“This was an incredibly dangerous mission, an incredibly dangerous undertaking, but a fulfilled promise made to every American war fighter that you will not be left behind,” Caine said.
The CIA reportedly assisted in pulling off a diversionary tactic that saw the US plant fake intel that the soldier had already been rescued and was being driven out of Iran, paving the way for the actual retrieval mission.
CIA director John Ratcliffe told reporters the rescue was a challenge, likening the hunt for the soldier to trying to find “a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”
“This was also a race against the clock, as it was critical that we locate the downed aviator as quickly as possible, while at the same time keeping our enemies misdirected,” Ratcliffe said.
“Our intelligence reflects that the Iranians were embarrassed and ultimately humiliated by the success of this audacious rescue mission.”
