WASHINGTON: The rescue had unfolded with near-perfect precision. Under cover of darkness, US commandos slipped deep into Iran, undetected, scaled a 7,000-foot ridge and pulled a stranded American weapons specialist to safety, moving him toward a secret rendezvous point before dawn on Sunday. Then everything stopped. Two MC-130 aircraft that had ferried some of the roughly 100 special operations forces into rugged terrain south of Tehran suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. rescues injured airman after F-15 downed in Iran, marking a critical moment in ongoing conflict, officials say.

TEHRAN: Iran’s military said on Sunday that the US operation to rescue a missing airman from a downed American fighter jet used an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan province.…