CIA Outsmarts Iran’s Revolutionary Guards with Spyware Deception to Rescue Downed American Airman
American ingenuity and bold intelligence work just delivered another win against a hostile regime. When an F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran earlier this month, the CIA didn’t sit idle. They hacked into phones belonging to IRGC commanders using Pegasus spyware and flooded them with fake messages claiming the missing U.S. airman had already been found and was being extracted.
The ploy worked. It diverted Iranian search teams, buying precious time for U.S. forces to locate the weapons systems officer hiding in a remote mountain crevice. Special operators then pulled off a high-risk rescue deep inside enemy territory, bringing the American home safely.
This wasn’t some Hollywood script. It was real-world tradecraft: exploiting cutting-edge tools to outmaneuver a regime that threatens U.S. interests at every turn. While the mainstream press downplays it, the facts are clear from multiple reports. The Iranians got played, and one of our own made it back alive.