ABNA24 - In the early hours of Sunday, April 5, 2026, the "God of Tabas" brought about another "Tabas" in Isfahan. A desperate U.S. attempt to rescue the pilot of its downed fighter jet on Iranian soil—met with divine intervention and the bravery of Iranian forces—led to the destruction of the aggressor’s aircraft, recording yet another defeat for the world's so-called most powerful military.
In the history of Iranian resistance against the United States, two symbolic events—46 years apart—have once again proved that the "God of Tabas" is alive and that the hand of divine destiny turns every American aggression into humiliation and defeat. The Tabas incident in 1980 and the recent incident in southern Isfahan in April 2026 are two narrations of a single story: a desperate American attempt at military intervention on Iranian soil, which, through the vigilance of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces and what Iranians refer to as "divine aid," resulted in the destruction and humiliating retreat of the enemy.
The First Great U.S. Humiliation in the Heart of the Desert
On April 24, 1980, an operation titled "Eagle Claw," designed by the U.S. Delta Force under the direct order of then-President Jimmy Carter, marked the largest operation to rescue American hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Eight helicopters and six aircraft penetrated Iranian airspace, but a sandstorm—which Iranians consider divine aid—trapped the helicopters. In the desert sandstorm, a collision between a helicopter and a C-130 aircraft killed eight American soldiers. Five giant helicopters were left behind, and the Americans fled with whatever advanced equipment they could, abandoning the grounded military gear.
Following that incident, Iran displayed the burnt equipment as a symbol of absolute U.S. defeat, as they could not even safely extract the forces sent for the rescue. This event became a turning point in the history of Iran's Islamic Revolution, signaling that divine will and the faith of revolutionaries can stop any war machine. Now, in April 2026, amidst extensive U.S. and Zionist aggression against our country, that scenario has repeated itself before the eyes of the people of Iran, America, and the world.
Tabas II: The Deserts of Southern Isfahan
On Friday, April 3, domestic and foreign media reported that a U.S. F-15 fighter jet had been targeted and downed by air defenses in Iranian skies. Following the crash, one of the two crew members was rescued, while the search for the second continued. U.S. forces managed to rescue the first pilot that same Friday, though small-arms fire at two U.S. helicopters wounded those onboard who had come to retrieve him.
The search for the second pilot, who was initially reported to have crashed in areas of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, was quickly launched by Iranian forces. The search continued until early Sunday. Meanwhile, American media reported that U.S. forces were also searching for the second pilot. In a state of disbelief on Sunday morning, April 5, unprecedented images of the destruction and burning of several American helicopters and aircraft were published by Iranian media, shocking public opinion. The military of the world's largest power, which has been beating the drums of victory against Iran for over a month, was once again grounded in the Iranian deserts—this time in southern Isfahan—due to a C-130 aircraft getting stuck in the sand, according to senior officials.
The Public Relations Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated in its first reaction: "Following the desperate actions of the American enemy to rescue the pilot of the downed fighter and the entry of enemy aircraft into the center of the country, during a joint operation (Aerospace Force, Ground Force, popular units, Basij, and Law Enforcement), the enemy's aircraft were destroyed, and the U.S. suffered another ignominious defeat similar to the Tabas operation."
In response to the U.S. President's message claiming a successful rescue, the IRGC clarified: "To cover up his heavy defeat, the gambler Trump claimed in a tweet that a special operation rescued the pilot. The God of Tabas' sands still exists."
The spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters also announced: "The aggressor aircraft in southern Isfahan, including two Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport plane, were struck and burned in the fire of the wrath of the heroic warriors of Islam."
Trump claimed in a message on Sunday morning that the rescue operation lasted seven hours and that the wounded pilot was taken to a safe location by U.S. forces. The New York Times reported that although the pilot was injured, he could walk and hid in the mountains for over a day, using a secure communication device to signal his location. U.S. media also reported that dozens of special forces participated, and they blew up two of their own transport planes when they got stuck in the sand to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump stated in a press conference on Monday night that 155 aircraft participated in the second rescue operation, including 4 bombers, 64 fighters, 48 tankers, and 13 rescue planes, claiming that the rescue team was on Iranian soil for 48 hours.
Ambiguities and Questions
One of the ambiguities of the rescue operation is the pilot's hiding location relative to the crash site, which are at a significant distance from each other. This raises questions: What were the Americans actually looking for in southern Isfahan? Was Iran's enriched uranium their target? Is such a massive volume of equipment and personnel truly for one pilot? Was the missing person actually a pilot?
Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressed these concerns on Monday: "The questions regarding this operation, which was a violation of the country's airspace, are many. The area where the pilot was claimed to be was Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, which is far from where they [the Americans] landed troops. The possibility that this was a rapid operation to steal uranium should not be ignored. What is clear is that the result was nothing but 'Tabas II'."
The spokesperson described the operation as "catastrophic" for the Americans. Despite Trump’s claims that Iranian air defenses have been "destroyed," the continuous downing of advanced U.S. aircraft over the past month tells a different story.
The Tabas and southern Isfahan incidents are not just military failures, but an ideological defeat for the U.S. against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian nation proudly records these two events in the history of resistance, telling its enemies: "Every time you enter, you will leave in humiliation."
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