Trump 'kept out of war room' for 'screaming at aides for hours' after US pilots missing in Iran
Aides allegedly kept the US president out of the room as they believed "his impatience wouldn’t be helpful".
President Donald Trump "screamed at aides for hours" after two American pilots had gone missing in Iran - prompting Trump to be "kept out the room" during the rescue mission.
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An F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Good Friday, prompting a high-stakes mission to rescue the airmen.
Trump's fears about how the war was panning out "were ramping up" and he "screamed at aides for hours" after finding out the airmen were missing, The Wall Street Journal reported.
One crew member was quickly rescued by U.S. forces after ejecting the plane before it went down. The second crew member spent 24 tense hours behind enemy lines before being extracted.
"Images of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis - one of the biggest international policy failures of a presidency in recent times - had been looming large in his mind,” one senior administration official said.
The Iran hostage crisis started when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran - prompting a 444-day diplomatic standoff.
Consequently, Trump reportedly was not allowed in the rescue-mission room.
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🚨“WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Office Members, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I… pic.twitter.com/FNPWV6MPvA
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 5, 2026
"Aides kept the president out of the room as they got minute-by-minute updates because they believed his impatience wouldn’t be helpful," an official told the newspaper.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had “"emained a steady leader our country needs."
"President Trump campaigned proudly on his promise to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, which is what this noble operation accomplishes," she said.
Iran and the US were in a desperate race to locate the crew member, with Iranian officials offering a "precious prize" for the pilot's capture. Some reports claimed anyone who is able to find the US airman would be given $60,000.
The rescue operations were the first time in military memory that two American pilots had been retrieved separately from inside enemy territory.
Trump said the US rescued both airmen “without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the second airman had been recovered from "the treacherous mountains of Iran" after being hunted by Iranian forces. He said the officer sustained injuries but would recover.
Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, is the joint military operations with Israel against Iran, which has seen widespread targeting of Iranian infrastructure. In response, Iran has largely blocked the Strait of Hormuz from nearly all commercial shipping - a critical route for global trade.