Trump said Iran was 'decimated.' Then an American F-15E fighter jet was shot down.

WASHINGTON — Less than 48 hours after President Donald Trump told Americans the U.S. military had “beaten and completely decimated Iran,” Tehran shot down an F-15E fighter jet, setting off a high-risk scramble by U.S. forces to rescue two service members from deep inside Iranian territory.

WASHINGTON — Less than 48 hours after President Donald Trump told Americans the U.S. military had “beaten and completely decimated Iran,” Tehran shot down an F-15E fighter jet, setting off a high-risk scramble by U.S. forces to rescue two service members from deep inside Iranian territory. Iran also struck two Blackhawk helicopters and an attack jet that were assisting in the search and rescue effort.

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The harrowing incidents have put in stark relief a growing challenge facing the president as the war enters its second month: Despite a daily bombing campaign and his triumphant wartime narrative, Iran retains enough military capabilities to inflict considerable damage to U.S. service members and America’s allies and assets in the Middle East.

A U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter plane takes off from RAF Lakenheath air force station in Mildenhall, England, on Jan. 7. Dan Kitwood / Getty Images“They have no anti-aircraft equipment,” Trump said of Iran in his address this week. “Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.”