Putting lipstick on a pig is the only way to describe the Trump administration’s systematic failures in dealing with the fallout from a failed Iran War!
This article is part of a five-part series detailing the Trump administration’s total, systemic failures in its Iran campaign. From (1) trying to decapitate Iran, only to engineer Mojtaba Khamenei’s rise, and the emergence of hardline IRGC leadership into key roles governing Iran, to (2) a failed attempt to capture Iran’s Uranium that now, in retrospect, looks more like a Jimmy Carter’s failed desert hostage rescue mission, to (3) the obliteration of US bases in the region with not only billions of dollars of damage but also – more importantly – the serious loss of electronic surveillance and guidance systems which will take years to restore. And then (4) we look at Trump’s failure to blockade the Straits of Hormuz and his aborted series of negotiations.
Trump has made the situation inside Iran much worse. He has added no value to the US or its allies. In a final, (5), conclusive article we explore how, without a visible or viable off-ramp, and a near total collapse of the world (and regional) economies, Trump may choose (or has already chosen) to either – directly or indirectly – nuke Iran, causing devastation on a scale never seen by mankind, leading to the death of over 10 million Iranians and large parts of Iran rendered totally uninhabitable for centuries – and precipitating the start of World War III, and the end of the American empire.
For me, with the evidence so blatant and openly available, what is incredibly baffling is the total lack of congressional oversight and control. How can a rogue President conduct such an expensive, failed campaign for over 60 days without challenge? This is not only a systematic failure of the Trump administration to conduct a campaign against Iran, but also a systematic failure of governance in America – and the whole world (with no real oversight by the UN Security Council, or other allied leadership). It is a failure on an unprecedented scale.
I implore you to read all 5 articles and decide for yourself.
On April 3rd, 2026, there were mainstream media reports that a US F15 fighter jet was shot down in Iran, and there was an elaborate rescue mission taking place to retrieve the pilot(s). On the face of it, it sounded ‘reasonable’. Only later, it was revealed that the ‘rescue’ mission somehow involved a whole train of airplanes, which were all conveniently destroyed by the US in the desert of Khuzestan (prior to leaving Iran).
It turned out that the operation was not just a rescue mission. That is the key point.
Officially, the story centered on a downed U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle and the rescue of its crew inside Iran. But the scale, aircraft mix, location, and logistics strongly suggest something larger was underway: a deep-penetration special operations mission near Isfahan, where Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile had become the central unresolved prize of the war.
According to reporting and Iranian claims, the U.S. established a forward operating position at an abandoned airstrip near Mahyar, south of Isfahan, roughly within reach of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. The mission involved special operations aircraft, helicopters, drones, fighters, and transport planes. CBS reported that verified images of low-flying U.S. aircraft over Iran were consistent with a combat search-and-rescue operation, while Iranian reports argued the scale suggested a uranium-seizure attempt, not merely a pilot recovery.
The Trigger — F-15E Downed
The crisis began with a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle shot down inside Iran. That aircraft was not a random platform. The F-15E is a deep-strike aircraft, built to fly long-range attack missions with a two-person crew: pilot and weapons systems officer.
Once the aircraft went down, the U.S. had an immediate problem: recover the crew before Iran captured them.
But the rescue footprint became unusually large. Low-flying aircraft, helicopters, drones, and special operations forces appeared over hostile territory. That is where the official rescue narrative started to look incomplete.
Air Cover and Suppression
To protect the mission, the U.S. reportedly used a layered air package.
Iranian accounts described air cover involving:
- F-15s
- F-16s
- F-35s
- roughly 20 drones
The purpose of this package would have been obvious: suppress Iranian response, monitor roads and villages, and keep Iranian units away from the rescue/extraction zone. F-35s would provide stealth surveillance and targeting. F-15s and F-16s would provide strike and escort coverage. Drones would watch movements on the ground.
This is not the kind of air package used for a minor pickup. It suggests a much larger operating area had to be secured.
The Desert Airstrip
The most important detail is the reported use of an abandoned airfield near Mahyar.
That changes everything.
A normal pilot rescue can be done with helicopters. But establishing a desert runway or forward operating base suggests the mission required fixed-wing aircraft to land, unload, reload, or extract personnel and cargo.
That is why the location matters. Mahyar is south of Isfahan, and Isfahan is central to the uranium question. IAEA reporting has identified Isfahan as a key site linked to Iran’s 20% and 60% enriched uranium stockpiles, with Iran holding about 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to 60% and over 1,000 kg of Uranium enriched to 20%.
If the mission was only to grab a pilot, helicopters would make sense. If the mission requires moving heavy material, a runway makes sense.
Special Operations Transport Aircraft Land
The reported aircraft losses are central to the reconstruction.
Accounts describe two MC-130J special operations transport aircraft becoming stranded or disabled on the ground. These aircraft are built for exactly this kind of mission: deep insertion, resupply, refueling, and extraction for special operations forces.
The MC-130J is not a casual rescue aircraft. It is the backbone of special operations air mobility.
If two MC-130Js were on the ground at a desert strip near Isfahan, that points to a major special operations footprint. One account cited in the search results says the U.S. later described the two stuck MC-130s as deliberately destroyed after replacement aircraft arrived and extracted the rescued crew and about 100 personnel.
Helicopters and Ground Teams Movements
The helicopter component reportedly included MH-6 or AH-6 special operations helicopters.
These small helicopters are associated with fast, low-altitude special operations: landing teams, protecting ground forces, and operating in tight spaces. If AH-6 versions were present, they could provide armed overwatch. If MH-6 versions were present, they could move small teams quickly.
This suggests U.S. personnel were not simply waiting at the runway. They were moving across the ground, either toward the downed crew, toward a target, or both.
CBS reported that images showed U.S. aircraft flying low in broad daylight over hostile territory, which its analyst said would only happen for a major reason, such as recovering downed pilots.
The Mission Breaks Down
At some point, the operation appears to have gone wrong. The possible causes are straightforward:
Iranian forces closed in faster than expected. The aircraft could not safely depart. The runway became compromised. The mission objective could not be completed. The risk of capture became too high.
This is where the destruction of U.S. aircraft becomes the decisive detail.
If MC-130Js were disabled on the ground, the U.S. would not leave them intact. These aircraft contain classified communications, sensors, defensive systems, mission equipment, and special operations modifications. Letting Iran capture them would be a massive intelligence loss.
So, the decision would be brutal but logical: destroy the aircraft yourself.
The U.S. Blows Up Its Own Planes
This is the heart of the story.
The U.S. reportedly destroyed its own stranded aircraft at the desert site after replacement aircraft arrived. That is not a sign of a clean operation. It is a sign of an emergency extraction.
The logic is simple: personnel first, secrets second, aircraft last.
If the crew and special operations forces could be extracted, but the aircraft could not, then the aircraft had to be burned, blown up, or otherwise rendered useless before Iranian forces arrived.
That is exactly the kind of decision commanders make when a mission has failed, but the force still has a chance to escape.
Replacement Aircraft Extract the Force
The replacement aircraft are also telling.
One account says a U.S. military official cited three Air Force Special Operations Command De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft, while FlightGlobal reportedly believed that the Airbus C295Ws seen in the area may have performed the extraction; CBS was cited as corroborating the C295 possibility.
Either way, the point is the same: the original extraction plan failed, and smaller replacement aircraft had to evacuate people.
That is not a routine rescue. That is improvisation under pressure.
Additional Claimed Losses
Iranian claims also included the loss of:
- one A-10 Thunderbolt II
- one MQ-9 Reaper drone
- multiple small special operations helicopters
These claims are more contested, but they fit the larger pattern of a mission that spiraled from covert extraction into emergency survival.
The A-10, if involved, would likely have been used for close air support, keeping Iranian ground units away from U.S. personnel. The MQ-9 would have provided surveillance and possibly strike capability.
The Bottom Line
The reconstructed picture is this:
A U.S. F-15E went down inside Iran. A large special operations rescue package entered Iranian airspace. The U.S. established or used a desert runway near Isfahan. The MC-130J aircraft landed there. Special operations helicopters and ground teams moved under fighter and drone cover. The situation deteriorated. Aircraft became stranded or disabled. Replacement planes were brought in. U.S. forces extracted personnel, then destroyed their own aircraft to prevent capture.
The official version calls it a rescue. The Iranian version calls it a failed uranium-theft operation.
The truth may sit between those two narratives — but the scale, location, and aircraft mix make one thing clear: this was no ordinary rescue. It was a major deep-penetration operation that went badly enough for the United States to destroy its own aircraft on Iranian soil.
And that makes it one of the most consequential military failures of the crisis.
If all this sounds familiar, those with deep memories might recall a similar aborted mission to ‘rescue US embassy hostages’ in April 1980 undertaken by then President Jimmy Carter, at an abandoned airbase (Tabas) in Iran’s desert. Jimmy Carter had to go on National Television to explain to the American public how that mission had gone badly. Major transport planes (C-130s) and adjacent helicopters had been destroyed, and Delta Force personnel died in the resulting fires.
This time, the Trump administration recast the mission as a rescue mission for pilots – and carefully managed a public relations disaster – to make it sound like the US was ‘successful’ at rescuing downed pilots, rather than explaining the failure of this overall mission.
I had predicted – on social media on March 31st – that Trump would try a Rambo-type mission to recover the Uranium and walk away from the war, declaring victory.
“They might send in troops to grab ‘some’ of the enriched uranium and say they saved the world from nuclear disaster – save face and get out. I think a Rambo-type ‘commando raid’ to grab say 200 kgs of Iran’s 400 kgs.”
Unbeknownst to me, this is exactly what Trump ended up doing – but doing badly. Not surprisingly, the Trump administration executed poorly. But they succeeded in their PR campaign to smear the story and tell a different ‘truth’. But can they contain the truth long enough? They put lipstick on this pig!!!
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