War with Iran: CIA played role in F-15 crew member rescue, administration official says
Follow along with ABC News' live updates on the War with Iran here.
IDF launches fresh strikes in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Sunday that it launched a fresh wave of strikes on alleged Hezbollah targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Kuwait reports Iranian drone attacks on power, desalination plants
Kuwaiti authorities reported overnight Iranian attacks on two power and water desalination plants, plus on the Ministries Complex building in Kuwait City.
Fatima Abbas Jawhar Hayat, the spokesperson for Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, said in a statement posted to X that two power and water desalination plants were targeted by Iranian drones, resulting in "significant material damage and the shutdown of two electricity generating units, without any human casualties."
The country's Ministry of Finance, meanwhile, said in a post to X that the Ministries Complex building was hit by a drone on Saturday evening. It reported "significant material damage to the building" but no casualties.
-ABC News' Mike Trew
WHO chief says risk of 'nuclear accident' after strikes in Bushehr
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said in a post to X on Sunday that strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities "could trigger a nuclear accident, with health impacts that would devastate generations."
"With every passing day of this escalating conflict, the stakes and threats are raised higher and higher. We must de-escalate now," Ghebreyesus said, following the latest report of attacks near Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday accused the U.S. and Israel of striking close to the plant four times since Feb. 28. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said one employee was killed in the latest strike near the facility on Saturday.
-ABC News' Rashid Haddou
Bahrain intercepts 13 more drones
The Bahrain Defence Force said in a post to X on Sunday that its air defenses intercepted 13 drones over the past 24 hours.
Bahrain's total interception tallies since Feb. 28 now stand at 188 missiles and 466 drones, the force said.
Iran media claims forces destroyed US aircraft during rescue mission
Iran's semi-official, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Tasnim News Agency on Sunday claimed that Iranian forces destroyed "several" U.S. aircraft which were involved in the operation to rescue the second F-15 crew member downed over Iran on Friday.
Other state-run and semi-official news agencies, among them the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting television station, also published the claim, which was attributed to a spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
The spokesperson claimed that Iranian forces destroyed two C-130 aircraft, as well as two Black Hawk helicopters, Tasnim reported.
-ABC News’ Rashid Haddou
Iran drone attacks spark fires at Bahrain energy facilities
Bapco Energies said on Sunday that an Iranian drone attack caused a fire at one of its storage facilities in Bahrain, according to a statement sent to ABC News' by Bahrain's National Communication Centre.
"The fire has been fully extinguished, and the situation is under control. Damages are currently being assessed and evaluated. No injuries have been reported," the statement said.
The Bahraini Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company also said that a number of its operational units were attacked by Iranian drones in the early hours of Sunday morning, causing "fires across the affected units," according to a report by the state-run Bahrain News Agency.
"All fires have since been fully extinguished and the situation is now under control," the statement said. The GPIC reported no casualties related to the incident.
Abu Dhabi authorities report fires at petrochemicals factory
The Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday reported "several fires" at the Borouge Petrochemicals Factory caused by what it said was falling debris "after a successful interception" of projectiles by air defense systems.
"Operations at the factory have been suspended immediately pending an assessment of the damage, no injuries have been recorded so far," the media office said in a post to X.
US forces destroyed 2 stuck C-130s during rescue mission, official says
Two C-130 aircraft that were part of the mission to rescue the second F-15 crew member became stuck at a location inside Iran during the operation, a U.S. official told ABC News.
U.S. forces deliberately destroyed the disabled aircraft so they would not fall into Iranian hands. As a result, additional replacement aircraft had to be flown into Iran to take the airman and the rescue teams out of the country, the official said.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
CIA played role in F-15 crew member rescue, administration official says
The CIA played a role in the rescue of the second F-15E crew member from Iranian territory, a senior administration official told ABC News.
Before the downed weapon systems officer (WSO) was located and rescued, the official said, the CIA "launched a deception campaign spreading word inside Iran that U.S. forces had already found him and were moving him on the ground for exfiltration out of the country."
"While the Iranians were confused and uncertain of what was happening, the agency used its unique, exquisite capabilities to search for -- and find -- the American," the official said. "This was the ultimate 'needle in a haystack,' but in this case it was a brave American soul inside a mountain crevice, invisible but for CIA's capabilities."
"The CIA immediately shared the WSO's exact location" with the Pentagon and White House, the official said.
"The president ordered an immediate rescue mission, which the DoW executed with boldness and precision, with CIA continuing to provide real time information," the official added.
-ABC News' Cindy Smith
IDF says it hit 120 air defense, missile targets in Iran over 24 hours
The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Sunday that its air force attacked more than 120 Iranian air defense and missile systems over the previous 24 hours.
'WE GOT HIM!' Trump says after airman rescue from Iran
President Donald Trump, in a post on his social media platform, hailed the rescue of the second crew member from an F-15E fighter jet downed over Iran, calling it "one of the "most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History" and writing, "WE GOT HIM!"
In the post, Trump said the operation unfolded over several hours and involved dozens of aircraft. He said the rescued crew member, a weapon system officer, is a colonel who sustained injuries "but he will be just fine," Trump said, adding he is "SAFE and SOUND!"
The post provides some details about the roughly 48-hour ordeal.
"This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour, but was never truly alone because his Commander in Chief, Secretary of War, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and fellow Warfighters were monitoring his location 24 hours a day, and diligently planning for his rescue," Trump wrote.
Trump said the earlier rescue of the F-15E pilot was not confirmed on Friday to not jeopardize the rescue mission for the weapon system officer.
"This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory," Trump said in the post. "WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!"
2nd US airman rescued from Iran after F-15 shot down
The second crew member aboard the F-15E shot down over Iran on Friday has been rescued by U.S. military forces who conducted a rescue mission earlier on Saturday night, two U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News.
The crewmember who was rescued was the weapon systems officer aboard the two-seater aircraft that was downed by Iranian fire on Friday, according to another U.S. official.
The pilot of the F-15E was rescued on Friday by U.S. search and rescue personnel.
Two Black Hawk helicopters that were part of the mission also took Iranian fire as they attempted the rescue mission on Friday. There were injuries to some of the crewmembers, but they were able to return to safety.
An A-10 Warthog aircraft that was providing close air support to the rescue mission was also hit by Iranian fire, but managed to make its way back to Kuwait where the pilot ejected safely before the plane crashed.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
