Iran Signals Openness to Talks as Search for Missing U.S. Pilot Escalates War Tensions
Cairo — Iranian forces were searching on Saturday for a missing U.S. pilot from one of two American warplanes downed over Iran and the Gulf, as Tehran signalled conditional openness to peace talks while the conflict entered its sixth week with rising military and economic risks.
Officials in both countries said Iranian fire had brought down a two-seat U.S. F-15E fighter jet, while U.S. officials added that a pilot from an A-10 Warthog aircraft ejected after it was hit and crashed in Kuwait. Two crew members were rescued, but one pilot remains unaccounted for, prompting an active search operation by Iranian forces in a southwestern region near the crash site.
Two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters involved in the search effort were also hit by Iranian fire but exited Iranian airspace, U.S. officials said, without providing details on injuries.
The developments underscore continued risks for U.S. and Israeli aircraft operating over Iran despite assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that American forces maintain control of the skies.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing the area for the missing pilot, while a regional official offered a reward for capturing or killing what was described as “hostile enemy” forces.
Amid escalating hostilities, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi indicated Tehran remained open in principle to negotiations mediated by Pakistan, while rejecting suggestions that it had refused such talks.
“We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad. What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting end to the illegal war that is imposed on us,” Araqchi said on social media.
U.S. officials said President Trump was receiving regular updates on efforts to locate the missing pilot, as the war which has killed 13 U.S. service members and wounded more than 300 continued to weigh on domestic political sentiment and economic conditions.
On the battlefield, Iranian state media reported air strikes on a petrochemical zone in the southwest, injuring at least five people, while a projectile struck an auxiliary building near the Bushehr nuclear plant, killing one person but not disrupting operations.
Iran accused the United States and Israel of repeated strikes near sensitive nuclear infrastructure, warning of potential regional consequences, while Israeli forces said they had conducted a new wave of strikes targeting Tehran.
The conflict has disrupted global energy flows, with Iran largely shutting the Strait of Hormuz a critical artery for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments though Iranian media said vessels carrying essential goods had been permitted to access its ports.
The war has killed thousands and triggered a sharp rise in oil prices, with benchmark U.S. crude jumping 11% earlier this week after Washington signalled no immediate end to hostilities.
As governments grappled with the economic fallout, five European Union finance ministers called for a windfall tax on energy companies to counter surging fuel costs, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
