The pilot's recovery/ CIA Director: The rescue operation was a "race against time"

CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated that locating and rescuing a missing soldier in Iran after his plane crash was an extraordinary challenge. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Ratcliffe compared the operation to searching for a grain of sand in the middle of a desert.

"The operation was also a race against time, as it was crucial to find the downed pilot as quickly as possible, while simultaneously keeping our adversaries misled," he said.

The CIA Director added that the agency used human sources to confirm the soldier's condition on Saturday morning, ensuring he was alive. The information was relayed to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who notified President Donald Trump, setting the rescue mission in motion.

"It is a unique tradition of the U.S. Armed Forces that we leave no man or woman behind, and this mission was carried out with complete safety," Ratcliffe concluded.