Two U.S. military aircraft were shot down in separate incidents on Friday during combat operations against Iran, triggering an ongoing search-and-rescue effort for at least one missing crew member, U.S. officials said.

Iranian forces said they downed two American fighter aircraft — one over southwestern Iran and another near the Strait of Hormuz.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the country’s air defence systems destroyed a U.S. F-15 fighter jet. Later, Iran’s military said it also targeted an A-10 aircraft that crashed into the Gulf.

The The New York Times, citing unnamed officials, reported the A-10 pilot was safe following the crash. However, the status of one crew member from the downed F-15 remains unknown. U.S. media reported that one crew member was rescued while another is still missing.

U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC News the incident would not affect prospects for talks with Tehran.

“No, not at all. No, it’s war. We’re in war,” he said.

Iranian state media broadcast images they said showed wreckage from the F-15 and what appeared to be an ejection seat with a deployed parachute.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf criticized Washington’s conduct of the conflict in a social media post following the incident.

There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon or U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and parts of Asia.

Officials in Iran’s Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province called on civilians to report sightings of surviving crew members, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Several U.S. lawmakers acknowledged the reports and expressed support for military personnel involved in rescue operations.

“I’m praying for the safe return of the crew aboard the fighter jet and all of those working to rescue them in these dangerous conditions,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media platform X.

Since the start of the conflict on Feb. 28, the United States has lost three F-15 fighter jets in what officials described as a friendly-fire incident over Kuwait. A U.S. military refuelling aircraft also crashed in Iraq last month, killing all six crew members aboard.

Iran has also claimed to have shot down dozens of U.S. drones since hostilities began, while Washington has repeatedly said it destroyed much of Iran’s air defence capability in early strikes.

Myles Caggins, a retired U.S. Army colonel and senior fellow at the New Lines Institute, said the incident represented a significant development.

He said portable air defence systems may still pose a threat despite earlier U.S. strikes against Iran’s air defence infrastructure.