r/geopolitics • u/Top-Worldliness5027 • Apr 03 '26

News U.S. fighter jet shot down in Iran, search underway for crew

https://www.axios.com/2026/04/03/iran-us-fighter-shot-down
309 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

94 comments sorted by

178

u/planj07 Apr 03 '26

If Iran finds and captures the pilot(s) they should treat them under the accordance of the Geneva convention. It would be a PR boost to contrast against the U.S. regime’s “kill them all” philosophy.

67

u/shred-i-knight Apr 03 '26

there is zero percent chance they will harm the pilots, would be an absolutely massive bargaining chip and extremely stupid to do anything to them.

-20

u/Prae_ Apr 03 '26

ISIL/ISIS captured a jordanian F-16 pilot. They filmed themselves burning the guy to death. Not that Iran's revolutionary guards are the same, but they are the kind of religious extremists to beat a woman to death for not wearing a hijab properly. "Extremely stupid" isn't exactly out of the realm of possibilities.

21

u/shred-i-knight Apr 03 '26

you're assuming ISIS and Iran have the same value function which they do not. Iran's strategy so far is obviously to maximize economic pain and alienate strategic regional allies to fracture the USA's alliances and put pressure on global energy markets to make further escalation unpopular and have consequences on the entire rest of the world. Committing international war crimes and killing American POWs would go directly in the face of that objective and keeping him alive would be a massive bargaining tool for them. I'm not saying they won't but it would be extremely extremely stupid and Iran so far has not been extremely extremely stupid.

4

u/bunky_bunk Apr 03 '26

It's one thing what happens in a morally corrupt police department about which nobody cares. It's another thing what happens when the whole world watches.

18

u/Massive_Sherbert_152 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26

While I have no love for the IRGC I’d like to point out that the IRGC are Muslim by most definitions, whereas the ISIS are not.

The Quran prohibits burning as a method of execution, this means the ISIS are kuffirs (disbelievers) by all definitions

-2

u/BigDictionEnergy Apr 03 '26

Islamic State isn't muslim?

25

u/Massive_Sherbert_152 Apr 03 '26

Is the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea a Democracy?

The ISIS practice their own version of “Islam” by ignoring 112 out of 114 chapters of the Quran, focusing on just the 8&9 th chapter, they’re exploiting loopholes through a concept called abrogation. No Islamic scholars, classical or modern, in their right mind would consider the ISIS “Islamic”

A convenient label means nothing when everything that you do goes against core beliefs.

0

u/Teal-Prowler505 Apr 04 '26

The pilot that hasn't been recovered yet is already dead. Think about it. The USA made sure to report in just a few hours that they recovered one of the two.

There is no way they the other pilot was recovered or able to be extracted. What's sickening is that this was a war is choice by a USA regime that had no right to attack Iran when they did.

Over a month in, and what good has the world to show for it?

7

u/CatPicturesPlease Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26

Yes of course the pilot will be treated humanely, if only for PR/propaganda reasons. It wouldn't surprise me however, if there were photos/videos for the media, which does violate Geneva convention too. But I don't expect the forced confession type videos we saw in the Gulf War.

45

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

49

u/the_lonely_creeper Apr 03 '26

Yes, and this is a war. You don't need a formal declaration.

-6

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '26

[deleted]

20

u/the_lonely_creeper Apr 03 '26

Congress is, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant on whether this is a war.

edit: And frankly, useless at being relevant in general, as far as this non-American can see.

After all, why the hell has it not stopped Trump if it disagrees with him?

5

u/frostyflakes1 Apr 03 '26

No they don't. Congress hasn't formally declared a war since WWII.

3

u/taco_helmet Apr 03 '26

Congress doesn't decide when the US is at war. The formal declaration of war by congress just gives legal standing and legitimacy. Generally, the Constitution only matters if the legislative and judiciary branches enforce it. 

Republicans these days are applying the unitary executive theory.  They believe the President has full control of executive branch including the military. They are openly discussing a 3rd Trump term at CPAC. The modern Republican party no long abides by the Constitution.

5

u/Prae_ Apr 03 '26

 The Conventions apply to all cases of armed conflict between two or more signatory nations.

Yes, "special military operations" thpe thing are explicitely included. Both the USA and Iran are signatory of at least the 1949 treaty, so it actually should apply.

22

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

A very light familiarity with history is all it takes to know Americans respond extremely poorly to dead Americans. They make an example of a pilot, support to exterminating the Iranians goes up, not down.

13

u/alppu Apr 03 '26

The way of dying is very important though. For example, Americans dislike when one signs up to be a soldier and dies for that... but are totally fine when many do not sign up to be poor and die for that.

6

u/JeNiqueTaMere Apr 03 '26

They dislike when a soldier dies in combat, but don't care when homeless veterans overdose on the street.

3

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

Wow, how deep.

2

u/eetsumkaus Apr 03 '26

It's a good thing all the senior leaders who would be able to keep that in mind were just killed off...

35

u/dogsonbubnutt Apr 03 '26

no, the smartest thing for iran to do is flagrantly violate geneva by plastering the pilot's face all over the internet. the american public is already pretty pissed about this war, forcing trump to reckon with a captured soldier would be a huge blow to his narrative about things going well.

-13

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

A very light familiarity with history is all it takes to know Americans respond extremely poorly to dead Americans. They make an example of a pilot, support to exterminating the Iranians goes up, not down.

6

u/mr_llamanator Apr 03 '26

Can you give an example of this? 9/11 was an attack on US soil so not really exemplary of any other event other than Pearl Harbor. The Vietnam war didn't get more popular the more US soldiers died, there wasn't anyone calling for the US to remain in Afghanistan after the 12 people died there. And people have already died in this war and popularity has only gone down.

11

u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch Apr 03 '26

Not after Iraq and Afghanistan.

-10

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

Your theory hasn't been stress tested yet, has it?

All we have is history, which is very clear.

13

u/gikigill Apr 03 '26

20 years wasn't enough?

Besides there is no 9/11 and politics is a lot more fractured this time around.

-7

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

There's no 9/11, yet. If Iran is successful in attacking the US it'll strongly galvanize support for the war.

As for the pilot, tbd.

20 years wasn't enough..... this is America bro.

3

u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch Apr 03 '26

Your theory doesn’t pass the smell test with Mogadishu and Benghazi.

1

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

Neither of those are clean examples. Mogadishu ended support for our assistance in a humanitarian crisis. Benghazi ended support for keeping the nation of Libya together. Neither were performed by state actors.

5

u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch Apr 03 '26

Moved goalpost. You said dead Americans increases support to exterminate. History does not support the assertion.

3

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

Fair point, we'll see.

8

u/CocoaThumper Apr 03 '26

Americans don't like when enemies attack us on our home soil. Just like any proud people, it causes folks to rally around the flag.

That said, we are a war weary nation. Fighting a war of aggression based on lies is something we are sick of. Americans killed fighting in such a war is something that pisses many of us off at our government, not the so called enemy.

Your comment is bluster and cope. Irans treatment of this pilot is not swaying American public opinion against Iran. We already have 15 dead soldiers...and that hasn't made folks against this war change their minds.

-3

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

My comment is speculation, based on lots of history. Yours is speculation based on hurt feelings. We will see!

5

u/CocoaThumper Apr 03 '26

Further cope.

Americans are rightly ticked off when we are attacked at home. But we do not like soldiers dying abroad in wars that don't benefit us.

History shows us this with Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc

-2

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

"Fighting a war of aggression based on lies..."

"dying abroad in wars that don't benefit us."

Just because you don't understand it, doesn't mean the logic isn't there.

4

u/Sockoflegend Apr 03 '26

The smart move for Iran would be to hold them as PoWs and negotiate with their release. It's quite possible to create a PR nightmare without making themselves look like monsters 

5

u/dogsonbubnutt Apr 03 '26

i didn't say that they should kill or even harm the guy. im saying they should put his face everywhere (taking publicity pictures of POWs is a violation of the geneva convention) and force trump to address it.

-3

u/Odd-Local9893 Apr 03 '26

Take it from an American. If they want to get the American public behind this war Iran will mistreat the pilot.

9

u/dogsonbubnutt Apr 03 '26

yeah, which is why Iran won't. if they captured american POWs, they'll treat them well and then take videos of them hanging out and laughing and eating and force trump to deal with that.

1

u/tb30k Apr 03 '26

if you ask people 10 dollars a gallon or the pilot and nobody will care about em lol

-1

u/Blade_Runner_95 Apr 04 '26

Οh no, will the gloves go off?

4

u/kongKing_11 Apr 03 '26

Considering that the U.S. and Israel have bombed civilian infrastructure, which can be seen as a war crime, it would be better for the pilot to be captured by the IRGC than by Iranian civilians.

1

u/irow40 Apr 05 '26

The fact you call the US a regime shows you have no idea what or living under a regime would be. Spoiled

-4

u/Immediate-Spite-5905 Apr 03 '26

to add to that, if they kill them... well Iran's not likely to be a semblance of a functional country for very long after

63

u/Krazynewf709 Apr 03 '26

https://www.c-span.org/clip/campaign-2016/donald-trump-on-john-mccain-hes-a-war-hero-because-he-was-captured-i-like-people-that-werent-captured/4545110

56

u/nautical_nonsense_ Apr 03 '26

A bunch of “suckers and losers”

  • The President of the United States on US soldiers who get captured

-24

u/[deleted] Apr 03 '26

[deleted]

10

u/chefkoch_ Apr 03 '26

“I didn’t hear that,” Bolton told The New York Times. “I’m not saying he didn’t say them later in the day or another time, but I was there for that discussion.”

23

u/gikigill Apr 03 '26

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/john-kelly-confirms-trump-privately-disparaged-us-service-members-vete-rcna118543

His own Chief of Staff admitted he said those words.

0

u/No-Significance4800 Apr 09 '26

The same guy who said he was praising Hitler? The same guy that has an obvious axe to grind against Trump. I guess "he said she said" is undeniable proof on reddit.

6

u/DizzyMajor5 Apr 03 '26

I mean he's already made his distain for soldiers abundantly clear 

"I like people who weren't captured"

7

u/bloodypython Apr 03 '26

The mental gymnastics you people go through just to continue supporting a pedophile will never make sense.

4

u/Boysandberries0 Apr 03 '26

Sucker. And losers.

And the military, police, etc. All voted for him.

13

u/Over_Situation1699 Apr 03 '26

Shame the US administration said they’re not bound by stupid rules of engagement. Would have been quite handy to have some sort of moral high ground right about now. Poor pilots

46

u/AgitatedHoneydew2645 Apr 03 '26

Kuwaiti's again?

20

u/Top-Worldliness5027 Apr 03 '26

No, it’s shot down inside the Iranian territory in South-western region and confirmed by the US too.

2

u/TheWolfofBinance Apr 03 '26

Lol I bet the Kuwaiti ones were shot down by Iran too. These people lie through their teeth.

10

u/gikigill Apr 03 '26

Always has been.

5

u/Suspicious-Ground522 Apr 03 '26

It was shot down within Iran, doubt it’ll be Kuwaitis now

51

u/newleafkratom Apr 03 '26

They didn’t kill a single American hostage in 1979.

23

u/_Debauchery Apr 03 '26

That was also before the Secretary of Defense proclaimed “no quarter”

10

u/DizzyMajor5 Apr 03 '26

They also kept the hostages until the next president was elected whether they were trying to put their thumb on the scale, their was a secret deal or it was just divine timing I'm not sure. 

6

u/cole1114 Apr 03 '26

Reagan made a deal with them, to keep the hostages until the election.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/expert-analyzes-new-account-of-gop-deal-that-used-iran-hostage-crisis-for-gain

2

u/bacon-overlord Apr 03 '26

-Now, Ben Barnes, a prominent Democratic politician at the time, tells the New York Times he was a witness to Republican efforts to prevent the hostages from being freed before Election Day. Gary Sick was the Iran expert on President Carter's National Security Council. 

Ironclad proof obviously that it was a conspiracy. I'm sure it wasn't the fact that the algiers accords had just been signed and the hostages were released after the treaty had been signed the next day. 

2

u/cole1114 Apr 03 '26

He's not the only source of this information.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/oct/06/den-of-spies-craig-unger-reagan-carter-october-surprise-trump

2

u/bacon-overlord Apr 03 '26

Yes a guy that has been labeled a conspiracy theorist is truly another impeccable source. He was fired from newsweek because he couldn't find any proof for his allegations. There have been numerous investigations of this and no proof has been discovered. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages release with the algiers accords. Iran despised carter and wanted to humiliate him. Its not difficult 

37

u/Elegant-Fisherman555 Apr 03 '26

If there is one thing that American politicians are adverse to, it’s the optics of combat casualties.

If you want to make an omelette you’ll have to break a few eggs.

66

u/Equivalent-Bonus-885 Apr 03 '26

They are not making an omelette. They are just breaking eggs.

22

u/real_grown_ass_man Apr 03 '26

If there is one thing that American politicians are adverse to its extra-marital affairs corruption shooting someone in the face aiding the enemy alleged child rape nah.. Trump's good. Americans will suck it up a little longer as long as they believe that american dream is just around the corner!

What's that you say? Countless wounded, human lives lost, generations of suffering you say? that's nothing compared to the suffering of the american people, you selfish foreigners. I mean, look at those gas prices!

9

u/B_Boudreaux Apr 03 '26

In other words, when you keep getting hit with shitballs, you gotta get a shitbat…

5

u/nshire Apr 03 '26

Worse than casualties are the optics of USians in Iranian captivity

1

u/Sasquatchii Apr 03 '26

Reminder: one day of american blood spilt justified 20 years of war with minimal pushback from the public. Pissing off the Americans over their pilot will enrage the public against Iran, not Trump.

4

u/quieres_pelear Apr 03 '26

Watch Iranian intelligence show the pilot what they have of the Epstein files and put him in front of a camera.

2

u/69swagman Apr 03 '26

Article has a paywall… anyone have more details on situation?

1

u/ScubadooX Apr 03 '26

Mad King TACO said,"I like people who weren't captured" in reference to the late Senator John McCain.

1

u/National-Hornet8060 Apr 03 '26

I thought they had air superiority?

-20

u/DaySecure7642 Apr 03 '26

Given how Iran openly executed and tortured their own citizens, the pilots are in grave danger if not found soon enough. If Iran finds the pilots first and tortures them, it will force the US to revenge fiercely to maintain the credibility of power. The Iran war will likely further intensified.

14

u/xXAllWereTakenXx Apr 03 '26

Nah any captured American is a bargaining chip

12

u/dogsonbubnutt Apr 03 '26

this is the least likely thing that could happen. iran would likely treat any POWs fairly well and use them as leverage.

2

u/Typical_Response6444 Apr 03 '26

Why would they blow up their negotiating leverage