AGENCIES

President Donald Trump yesterday said US forces safely extracted a second airman downed in Iran, calling it “one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations” in its history.

Meanwhile, Iran said it had “completely foiled” the rescue operation and distributed images appearing to show the wreckage of several aircraft but did not confirm whether it had captured the US serviceman or that US forces had recovered him.

After announcing the rescue, Trump threatened in an expletive-laden post to strike Iran’s power plants and bridges if it does not reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The war, which erupted on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has engulfed the Middle East and convulsed the global economy.

Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane, a conduit for roughly one-fifth of global oil trade, and launched strikes on Israel and its Gulf neighbours.

Trump warned Iran to stop choking traffic through Hormuz. “Open the f***ing Strait, you crazy bas***ds, or you’ll be living in Hell,” he said in his social media post. The Daily Star has used asterisks in the qoute due to obscene language.

Trump’s warning came as the Omani and Iranian deputy foreign ministers reportedly held talks on easing passage through Hormuz.

RESCUE OPERATION

Trump said on Truth Social that the airman had been “behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies”.

“He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine.

“This miraculous Search and Rescue Operation comes in addition to a successful

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