Two US ​warplanes were downed over Iran and the Gulf, Iranian and US officials said on Friday, with two pilots rescued and a third still missing and being hunted ‌by Tehran's forces, reported Reuters.

The incidents show the risks still faced by US and Israeli aircraft over Iran despite assertions from President Donald Trump and his Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that their forces had total control of the skies.

The two-seat US F-15E jet was the first American warplane shot down by Iran in the five-week war, reported The New York Times.

US forces were searching on Friday for an American airman who bailed out of a fighter jet over Iran during the first shoot-down of a US warplane by Tehran in five weeks of war, officials said. A second crew member was rescued, 

Iran’s military was also searching for the missing American from the destroyed plane, an F-15E Strike Eagle, according to three Iranian officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The prospect of a US service person being alive and on the run inside Iran raises the stakes for Washington in a conflict with low ​public support and no sign of an imminent end, said the Reuters.

The officials said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps had closed off an area in southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, where they believed the flier went down.

The second plane, an A-10 Warthog fighter aircraft, was hit by Iranian fire and crashed over Kuwait, with the pilot ejecting, two US ​officials said.

Two Blackhawk helicopters involved in the search effort for the missing pilot were hit by Iranian fire but made it out of Iranian airspace, the two US officials told ​Reuters.

The degree of injuries among the crew of the aircraft remained unclear. The status and whereabouts of the missing F-15E crew member was not ⁠publicly known.

Iran is also claiming to have shot down a second US warplane over the Persian Gulf. US media say the A-10 combat plane was shot at near the Strait of Hormuz during a search-and-rescue mission for the first downed aircraft. The pilot ejected and was rescued.

Talking to BBC, leading military experts said the ongoing search for the missing crew member of the downed US fighter jet is extremely time-sensitive, as Iran races to locate the same personnel as US combat search and rescue crews.

"It's the most dangerous military mission that I know of," says James Jeffrey, a military strategist and top US diplomat who has served as special representative for Syria and special envoy to the international military intervention against ISIL.

Such missions are often conducted by helicopters, with refuelling aircraft in support and other military aircraft on hand to conduct strikes and patrol the area. Verified video that emerged from Iran on Friday appears to show such a mission under way over Khuzestan province.

"These are Air Force special operations people who are trained almost to the level of Delta Force and Navy SEAL Team Six, but they also have medical capabilities," Jeffrey tells the BBC. "They will not give up until they can find a pilot if they think there's any chance."

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said it was combing an area near where the pilot's plane came down in southwestern Iran and the regional governor promised a commendation for anyone who captured or ​killed "forces of the hostile enemy."

Iranians, who have been pummeled by American air power for weeks, posted gleeful messages celebrating the plane downings, reported Reuters. 

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on X that the ​US and Israel’s war had been “downgraded from regime change" to a hunt for their pilots.

Trump has been in the White House receiving updates on the search-and-rescue operation, a senior administration official told Reuters. The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.