New developments related to the downing of a US fighter jet in Iran on April 3 (US time) are raising the possibility of changing the negotiating landscape between Washington and Tehran.
Mr. Adam Smith, a senior Democratic congressman in the House Armed Services Committee, said that if Iran captures the US pilot, this will "completely change the course of negotiations". This assessment is contrary to President Donald Trump's previous statement that the plane crash incident would not affect the negotiation process.
According to US media, an F-15E fighter jet was shot down in Iranian airspace, forcing two pilots to parachute. One person was rescued by US special forces, while the other is still missing on Iranian territory. Both sides are deploying search forces, in the context of Iran offering a reward of 10 billion toman, equivalent to nearly 60,000 USD, for anyone who finds and surrenders this pilot.
Tensions continued to escalate as Iran announced that it had shot down another US A-10 attack aircraft participating in the search operation. US media reported that the A-10 pilot tried to move the plane out of Iranian airspace before crashing in the Persian Gulf area.
Mr. Adam Smith also criticized Mr. Trump's statements about the level of military success, saying these statements were "completely unreasonable". He expressed skepticism about information that Iran is seeking an agreement, and questioned the content and conditions of any ceasefire.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Jamie Raskin, a Democratic senator from the House Judiciary Committee, said that Iran's shooting down of US aircraft shows that Washington does not completely dominate the airspace. He believes that the US needs to strengthen cooperation with allies to end the war, while emphasizing that the bombing campaign cannot achieve the goal of regime change.
The location of the F-15E crash has not yet been clearly determined. This is considered the first time a US fighter has been shot down over Iran in the current conflict.
In an interview, Mr. Trump said he could not comment on the possibility of handling it if the missing pilot falls into Iran's hands, and expressed hope that this scenario would not happen.
