A second U.S. Air Force combat plane crashed in the Persian Gulf region on Friday (April 3, 2026), and its only pilot was then rescued, the New York Times reported, citing two U.S. officials. Earlier in the day, one crew member was rescued on Friday (April 3) after an American aircraft was shot down in Iran, according to one U.S. and one Israeli official, who both spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive ongoing military operations.
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Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli strikes have destroyed about 70% of Iran’s steel production capacity, significantly hindering its ability to manufacture weapons.
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Iran and its allies traded fire with Israel and the United States, as Washington-linked assets across the West Asia were targeted alongside energy and civilian infrastructure -- with the month-long war on Friday (April 3, 2026) showing little sign of easing. Strikes have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and deepening the conflict’s impact beyond the battlefield.
