CAIRO/WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - Iranian forces were hunting for a missing U.S. pilot on Saturday from one of two warplanes downed over Iran and the Gulf, raising the stakes for Washington as the war entered its sixth week with scant prospect of peace talks in sight.
The incidents show the risks still facing U.S. and Israeli aircraft over Iran, despite assertions by President Donald Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that U.S. forces had total control of the skies.
The prospect of a U.S. service member alive and on the run in Iran comes days after Trump threatened to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages” in a war that has killed thousands, sparked an energy crisis and threatened lasting damage to the world economy.
With Iran’s leadership defiant since the start of the war, its foreign minister in principle left the door open for peace talks with the U.S. via mediation from Pakistan, but gave no sign of Tehran’s willingness to bow to Trump’s demands.
“We are deeply grateful to Pakistan for its efforts and have never refused to go to Islamabad. What we care about are the terms of a conclusive and lasting END to the illegal war that is imposed on us,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X.
