Iranian and U.S. forces were searching for a missing American pilot on Saturday from one of two warplanes downed over Iran and the Gulf, while U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Tehran that time was running to meet his latest deadline for a deal to end the war.
The prospect of a U.S. service member alive and on the run in Iran raised the stakes for Washington as the conflict entered its sixth week with scant prospect of peace talks in sight and polls showing low public support.
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.
Trump has sent mixed messages since the conflict began with a U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran on Feb. 28, switching between hinting at diplomatic progress and threatening to bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.”
On Saturday, he repeated his threats to intensify attacks on Iran if it failed to reach a deal or open the key Strait of Hormuz waterway.
“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
WATCH | Trump threatens to ramp up attacks on Iran:
Trump issues fresh threats to Iran as search continues for missing U.S. pilot
U.S. President Donald Trump said he’ll ‘reign down hell’ on Iran within 48 hours if a deal is not reached or the Strait of Hormuz is not opened, in a Truth Social post Saturday. Meanwhile, Jonathan Schroden, chief research officer at the Center for Naval Analyses, says ‘combat search and rescue’ operations are underway to find the missing U.S. pilot from one of two warplanes downed Friday.
Nuclear facility hit
Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that a projectile hit a building on the perimeter of the country’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, killing one of the facility’s guards, the IAEA said on social media on Saturday.
There was no increase in radiation levels, the agency said, adding that it’s the “fourth such incident in recent weeks.”
The agency’s director general Rafael Mariano Grossi is “reiterating call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident,” the post says. “NPP (nuclear power plant) sites or nearby areas must never be attacked.”
Satellite image shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran on May 26, 2025. Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that a projectile hit a building on the perimeter of the power plant on Saturday. (Planet Labs PBC/Reuters)
The incident is one of the latest amid Israel and the U.S.’s ongoing war in Iran, with Saturday marking yet another intense day.
Iranian state media reported airstrikes at a petrochemical zone in southwestern Iran, with five people reported injured so far, as well as airstrikes on warehouses storing bottled water in western Iran.
On Saturday, Iraq also closed its southern Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran after airstrikes on the Iranian side killed an Iraqi citizen, security sources told Reuters on Saturday.
The war has killed thousands and sparked an energy crisis since the initial U.S. and Israel attack that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Global economy reeling amid energy crisis
Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world’s total oil trade, in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli attacks. Consequences have since reverberated around the world as countries manage rising oil prices.
On Saturday, Iran reportedly said it has authorized the passage of vessels carrying essential goods to its ports through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a letter cited by Iran’s Tasnim news agency on Saturday.
The letter indicates that ships heading to Iranian ports, including those currently in the Gulf of Oman, must co-ordinate with authorities and comply with established protocols to transit the strait, Tasnim said.
WATCH | Breaking down the ongoing energy crisis:
Fueling concern: The CBC’s Andrew Nichols talks with analyst Linda Thompson of Fuel Partners
As gasoline prices keep ticking higher toward $2 a litre and diesel sits near $2.50, there is little relief for Canadian drivers as the global energy crisis grows with no end in sight to the Iran war. Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.
As countries from Germany to Japan sought to deal with the fallout, five European Union finance ministers called for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies in reaction to rising fuel prices, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Senegal’s government axed all non-essential foreign travel by ministers and top officials, warning of “extremely difficult” times ahead as higher global oil prices strained the nation’s budget.
Oil markets were closed after benchmark U.S. crude prices jumped 11 per cent on Thursday after U.S President Donald Trump offered no clear sign of an imminent end to the war in a speech.
Iran shoots down 2 U.S. fighter jets
The downing of two U.S. warplanes shows the risks still facing U.S. and Israeli aircraft, despite assertions by Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that U.S. forces had total control of the skies over Iran.
Iranian fire brought down a two-seat U.S. F-15E jet, officials in both countries said, while two U.S. officials said the pilot ejected from an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft that crashed in Kuwait after being hit by Iranian fire.
WATCH | American fighter jet shot down, pilot missing:
American fighter jet shot down over Iran, search for crew member continues | Hanomansing Tonight
A U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday, triggering a rescue for one of the crew members and a search for the other.
Two Black Hawk helicopters engaged in the search for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two U.S. officials told Reuters.
The scale of injuries to the crew was unclear.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing a southwestern area near where the pilot’s plane came down, while the regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or killed “forces of the hostile enemy.”
With no end in sight, the conflict has left 13 U.S. military service members dead and more than 300 wounded, the U.S. Central Command says.
Iran has rained drones and missiles on Israel and taken aim at Gulf countries allied to the United States, which have held back from joining the war directly for fear of further escalation.
Israel has been waging a parallel campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon after the militant group fired at Israel in support of Iran. Early on Saturday, Israel’s military said it was striking the militants’ infrastructure sites in Beirut.
