Rescue of American airmen sign of close cooperation with Israel, Katz says

Defense Minister Israel Katz says the rescues of two American airmen whose fighter jet was downed over Iran on Friday are a sign of the US and Israeli militaries’ ability to work together in the Iran war, even when complications arise.

“This is another expression of the close cooperation between Israel and the United States, even in the most complex moments,” he says in the first high-level Israeli comment on the rescue of the second airman this morning, which Katz says he “commends.”

Israel is not known to have played any direct role in the rescue missions, the second of which involved dispatching special operations troops to a mountainous area of Iran, where they managed to locate and spirit out the officer.

However, defense officials said the search-and-rescue operation was assisted by Israeli intelligence.

The Israeli Air Force also postponed strikes in areas of Iran where the search efforts were taking place, an Israeli official said earlier.

Katz says Iran will “pay painful prices” and its national infrastructure will “collapse” if it continues to fire missiles at Israel.

“As we have stated: as long as missile fire toward Israeli civilians continues, Iran will pay painful prices that will erode and collapse its national infrastructure,” he says, following an assessment with military officials.

He also defends the decision to order Israeli Air Force strikes on petrochemical facilities in southern Iran.

“The petrochemical industry has generated approximately $18 billion over the past two years for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terror organization, and directly serves Iran’s missile production industry,” Katz says.