Among the possibilities worrying the US as two nations' militaries conduct an intense search for a pilot missing since a US fighter jet was shot down over southwestern Iran is the prospect of the American being captured and becoming leverage for Iran's government. Including the 1979 hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were held for 444 days, Iran has used taking captives as a strategy, Yeganeh Torbati writes in a New York Times analysis, to make "global headlines, inflict pain on its adversaries and extract concessions." In a reflection of its goal to get to the pilot before US forces do, Iran is offering the public a reward for capturing the "enemy's pilot or pilots" and turning them over alive to security forces.
Author: Bob Cronin
Published at: 2026-04-04 21:10:00
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