US President Trump tweeted: "We have successfully rescued a seriously wounded and extremely brave F-15 crew member/officer from deep in the Iranian mountains. The Iranian military was conducting a massive search and had closed in. He is a highly respected colonel. Such raids are extremely rare due to the high risk to personnel and equipment, and almost never happen! The second operation followed the first, when we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, which was equally unusual, and we remained over Iranian airspace for seven hours. All those involved demonstrated incredible courage and capability! I will hold a press conference with the military in the Oval Office at 1 p.m. (local time) Monday (1 a.m. Beijing time the following day)."